From Cub to Adolescent
by Animation Universe 2005
Summary: Max turns 12 and he gets to live the last weeks of being 11 while experiencing the joys, fears and hopes that comes with being a pre-teen! Enjoy!
1. Last Weeks of Being 11

I'm back! And this time...a new Max fic that shows Max is getting older as he looks forward to being 12 years old! For The Master of Stories and SpiritualLoneWolfXIII! Enjoy!

* * *

From Cub to Adolescent

by: Terrell James

Chapter 1: Last Weeks of Being 11

One morning at the Valley of Peace, Max was the only one in the house asleep and he felt some of the sunbeams glowing through him and Max lets out a very sleepy moan and just stuck out his paw to close the window so he can sleep some more for a while at least until a tiny bit later, which is kinda unusual for some because normally, he'd be up almost before everyone else was up, but that reason was because Max has always got up too early and just needed to sleep in to catch up on his sleep.

Meanwhile, downstairs...Samurai, Phoenix, Tsunami and Zoey were up as well while Samurai is fixing some breakfast for everyone in the house while their dad and stepmom are asleep and some of the youngest kids, Duke, Bakari, Isaiah and Shinoda were ready for breakfast too as they walked downstairs and they said, "Good morning."

"Morning, guys. Where's Max?" asked Phoenix.

"He's still asleep." Duke replied.

"He's still asleep? That's so unlike him. Normally, he'd be up before breakfast even begins." Zoey said, completely concerned.

"Well, dad said that Max has been staying up a little late and getting up earlier and for some reason, sleep always seems to catch up with him in most cases, so he needs to catch up on his sleep so he wouldn't fall behind on anything that happens during the day." Samurai replied.

"I guess sleep is important." Phoenix replied.

"So says the one panda cook that sleeps until 2:00 pm every Saturday and Sunday." Zoey replied, glaring at Samurai.

Samurai could tell that Zoey is hinting at the fact that Sam stays up on the weekends late at night and goes to sleep until after lunchtime and Samurai rolled his eyes in response to that and said, "Hey, I work every day at Mr. Ping's. I think I deserve a hibernation weekend."

"Yeah, you hibernate and you'd be 40 years old, still living here." Tsunami said, laughing.

Samurai laughs sarcastically at Tsunami at that response and said, "And for that, no bamboo pancakes for you."

"Is that a promise?" asked Tsunami, in a sarcastic whiny voice.

Then, for some reason, Sage walks in with just a shirt and underwear on, though his is sagging down a little and said, "Can you guys keep it down? A wolf has to sleep, you know?"

"Well, look who finally got up." Zoey said, exasperatedly.

Sage sticks his tongue out at Zoey and just walked over to the counter, sitting down and said, "Is breakfast ready yet?"

"Still working on it, Sage. I noticed you've been out getting drinks." Samurai added.

Sage scoffs at this and replied, "Yeah, well...you guys should join me and get drunk and hit on chicks. It's a wolf's paradise."

Zoey glares at Sage for that remark and she just sneered at him in total disapproval and said, "That will never happen."

"What? You turned 21." Sage said, hinting at the age.

"Yes, I am 21 and I understand it's the age to drink, but I don't have to drink if I don't want to. That's part of the moral rights I carry." Zoey added.

Sage scoffed and laughs loudly at that and Zoey could smell his breath from a mile away like a huge kick in the face and said, "Dude! When was the last time you brushed your teeth?"

"I don't know...like 3 weeks ago." Sage answered.

Samurai gagged at that longevity and said, "Dude, brush your teeth, please. Your breath smells like a stink bomb just exploded all over the place."

"Whatever...you can kiss my wolf butt for all I care." Sage said, getting out of his seat.

"And while you're up there, can you wake up Max, please? Little guy's been sleeping a lot lately." Samurai added.

"Oh, I'll wake him up in the best way possible. Plus, I don't see why he shouldn't go to sleep all day. You just do nothing all day and it's the best." Sage replied, with a smirk as he walks upstairs.

Zoey could tell that Sage might be up to something if he wakes Max up and he turned to Samurai and replied, "Shouldn't Max already know that Sage is coming?"

"Don't worry...Max knows that when Sage tries something to wake him up, he came totally prepared." Samurai said, with a wink.

"Prepared? Like how?" asked Zoey, raising an eyebrow.

Just then, they heard Sage howl in peril and a few thuds from the ground and wondered what's going on, but they saw Max come downstairs wearing just his sweatpants and wearing iron wristbands and saw everyone there and said, "Morning, guys."

"Morning, Max. How are ya?" asked Samurai, smiling.

Max smiled back as well and replied, "Pretty good. Yourself?"

"Just getting breakfast ready for ya." Samurai replied.

Soon enough, Sage came downstairs, limping in pain and his underwear has a few slices from behind and Sage growls at Max and said, "You little brat...you may be older, but you're still a shrimp."

"Think twice before you try to prank me...again." Max said, with a humble smirk.

Sage grumbles and just walks back upstairs and said, "If anyone needs me, don't. I'll be sleeping in my room."

After that, Samurai looks at Max and asked, "So...what are you gonna do on your birthday?"

"My birthday isn't until 7 weeks. But I'd just say a little birthday dinner with you guys and we'd bring the Jade Palace masters over." Max replied.

"What about Saori? Are you gonna invite her?" asked Tsunami, with a teasing voice.

Max knew for a fact that they're gonna talk about Saori and how much he's got a crush on her, but he just brushed it off because they're making a big deal about it too much and he said, "Saori and I are just friends."

"That's not what Akashi told us on the last visit. He told me and Phoenix that you two were kissing under the Peach Tree." Samurai said, chuckling.

"That was one time. She and I made a solemn vow to never speak of the whole thing." Max replied.

"I can hear wedding bells already."Z oey said, giggling.

Soon enough, Musaki walks downstairs and he says good morning to everyone and joins in with the others, then took a look at Max and said, "Hey, you're finally up! I've been wondering why you were asleep after sunrise."

"I just have to keep up with my sleep." Max answered.

"Yep. I can't believe you're gonna be 12 years old. Just 5 years ago, you were a shy, timid little tiger when we adopted you and now you've already grown up. Where did the time go?" asked Musaki.

Max chuckled softly at this and said, "Hey, I'm still the same old humble me. I'm actually a little nervous about being 12 though."

"What's there to be nervous about being 12?" asked Tsunami.

"Well...I know that when kids get older, they tend to fight with anyone who stands in their way, they think they know better than everyone else and do what everyone else is doing that they shouldn't be doing. I just don't want to get caught up with that." Max replied.

Samurai could tell that Max doesn't want to be one of the kids that follow on a path that they can't go back to and is worried that he might be in a situation he'll never get away from if he's influenced by the wrong crowd and he said, "Hey...you won't have to. Just surround yourself with people who care about you and you won't have to worry about the other stuff. Just stay grounded and humble."

Max nodded at this and Zoey agreed with what Samurai said and said, "Don't end up like Sage."

"Oh, I definitely won't be. Plus, Akashi has kept me grounded a lot, mainly during the times we train or just hang out if I need some advice from him." Max answered.

Musaki had noticed that Max was shirtless and asked, "Where's your vest?"

"Oh, I took it off because it was hot while I was sleeping and it just had the most amazing relief ever, you know? I've been doing it a lot lately because it's been hot a lot at night and when I sleep without my vest, it actually feels so comfortable." Max replied.

"Dude...you're 11!" Tsunami replied, apparently shocked at the detail Max is giving.

"You're not thinking what I hope you weren't thinking of doing, were you?" asked Samurai.

Max seemed confused by what Tsunami and Samurai were thinking and asked, "What?"

Both of them whispered what they were thinking in Max's ear and after that, Max's response was, "Are you serious? I'm not like those other guys! It's way too early for me to talk about this."

"You have been putting off the birds and the bees talk for a while and I think at this age, your dad should give you the talk." Musaki added.

"What talk?" asked Mako, yawning.

Everyone turned to Mako and saw him wearing his robe coming into the kitchen and Samurai replied, "Isn't it time you give Max the talk?"

Mako was still sleepy and replied, "Oh...that talk. Maybe some other time. You know I don't make sense when I'm sleepy."

"Want some tea, dad? Made it myself." Samurai said, pouring Mako some tea.

"Hopefully, it's not poisonous." Tsunami muttered.

* * *

And the story begins! Stay tuned for more!


	2. Getting Older

And Max gets a taste of what it's like to be a pre-teen...especially when it comes to one girl.

* * *

Chapter 2: Getting Older

Just then, as breakfast starts getting underway, Samurai hears a knock on the door and he walks in to answer it and as he opened the door, he looks down and sees Saori standing there, waving to Samurai aand she said, "Morning, is Max here?"

Samurai knew that this would be the cue for him to tease Max a little bit and he turned to Max and said, "Hey, Max...your girlfriend is here."

Max rolled his eyes at that tease and he walks to the Samurai to clear the air, but when he saw Saori standing there, he froze and just blushed at the fact that she's here and got quickly embarrassed that he entered with no shirt on and Saori was already staring at him very quickly and said, "Wow...you look handsome without your shirt."

Max chuckled nervously as he scratched the back of his neck in a modest fashion and said, "Thanks."

"May I come in?" asked Saori.

"Sure. You can stick around for breakfast." Max replied.

Saori walks into the house and Samurai elbowed Max with a sly look on his face and said, "You got this in the bag, dude. My little tiger brother...having a girlfriend."

Max tried to disclose the fact that there's something going on between the two of them, but with Saori around, it gets kinda hard to keep it all in because he secretly knows that he has a massive crush on Saori from when he first met her and saved her from some croc bandits a few years ago. He sighed in defeat because he couldn't resist her glancing at him with those eyes of hers and it magnified her straight to his heart and he said, "I'll go get my vest."

Max walks up the steps to get his vest and Samurai walks back to the kitchen and said to Saori, "How's your brother?"

"He's fine...but he's being a pest, as usual." Saori replied.

"Just like Sage?" asked Zoey.

Saori giggled a little and replied, "No, not like that. Just this morning, we were having a fight over who gets Miyo's cocoa bread first and of course, I got it first and Akashi just pestered me over the fact that I got it first because I smelled it first."

"What did he do this time?" asked Tsunami.

"After I got the bread first, Akashi took the entire plate of bread and just gobbled it up very quickly, leaving me with the one I got first and just rubbed it in his face claiming big brothers will always win. Thank goodness for Miyo leaving me a platefull of extra ones in case Akashi smells some more." Saori replied.

"Power to the little sisters." Zoey said, smiling and giving Saori a fist bump.

Saori responded with the fist bump almost as if it's their little sister standing up for themselves initiative and she said, "So...when's Max's birthday?"

"In 7 weeks." Samurai replied.

"Wow...how old will he be?" asked Saori, smiling.

"He will be 12." Duke replied.

Saori widened her eyes after hearing that Max will be 12 in 7 weeks and she's a little bit older than him, but mostly in the same age gap as he is and she said, "12? Miyo's gonna freak out when she finds out."

"Yeah, she would. Hey, speaking of Miyo...do you think you can ask her to bake a birthday cake for Max?" asked Samurai.

"Sure thing! You may want to ask her first ahead of his birthday. She does not do last minute cake baking. Last time she tried it for Shifu's birthday, the cake fall apart right in front of him and he just freaked out...especially when he got cake smoosh all over his clothes." Saori added.

"Oh yeah...I remember that part. That was so funny seeing Shifu have a tantrum on his birthday." Samurai said, laughing.

"I've never seen Shifu have a fit like a 2 year old before." Phoenix added, snickering.

"I had thought that he was more mature like that. Must've had a Dragon Warrior immaturity syndrome effect or something." Zoey added.

Seconds later, Max came out with a black and white striped vest with a tiger's paw on the back part and a tiger's roar on the right part and when he walked downstairs, Saori took one look at Max and she couldn't contain herself and felt overwhelmed by Max's aura as he entered the room and she said, "Wow...you look so handsome, as always."

"Thanks, Saori." Max replied.

"I like you in two ways; with and without the shirt." Saori said, swishing her tail around.

Max could tell that Saori's completely infatuated with him and Max could tell that she's all over him and he whispered, "Not in front of my brothers, please."

"Hey, don't worry about us. You're almost 12 years old, man. Before long, girls will break down the doors for you." Samurai said, teasingly.

"If they do, my salamander will take care of the other girls." Saori added.

Seconds later, in comes Akashi coming into the house and caught his sister all over Max and he said, "Hey, sis. Trying to flirt?"

Saori froze and slowly turned around to see Akashi standing there with his arms folded, staring at her and she lets out an innocent giggle and said, "I'm only here for breakfast."

"Yeah, I know...and you've had your eye on the main course." Akashi pointed out.

Max looked at Akashi for a second and he said, "Hello, Akashi."

"Hey, Max. Heard you're gonna be 12 in 7 weeks. You're starting to grow up a little bit." Akashi replied.

Max smiled at this and he said, "Thanks, Akashi. I don't feel any older...at least I don't think."

Akashi chuckled at this response and he said, "Wait until you become a teenager. You'll definitely feel the effects inside of you soon."

"Would you like to join us for breakfast, Akashi?" asked Mako.

"What do you guys have?" asked Akashi.

"Whatever Samurai's making." Mako answered.

Akashi then sits down on the table while Max and Saori sit next towards each other and Saori looks at Max with a smile and said, "This is gonna be a good breakfast."

"Yeah, it will." Max replied.

* * *

Akashi and Saori make an appearance through the story! Master of Stories, hope ya like!


	3. Hanging with Blaze

And we get to Max and Blaze!

* * *

Chapter 3: Hanging with Blaze

An hour later, Max walks around the Valley of Peace for a while to drop in on his dragon buddy Blaze to see what he's been up to and when he knocked on the door, Blaze immediately answered the door and saw his tiger friend come in and he said, "Maxim dude! What's happening?!"

Max laughs in response and they did their signature handshake/fist-bump explosion greeting before sharing a hug together and Max said, "How's it going?"

"Pretty good, dude. So...word around the valley is that your birthday is coming. How old will you be?" asked Blaze.

"I'm gonna be 12." Max answered.

"Really? I'm gonna be 14 in a few months." Blaze added.

The two-year age gap between the two friends didn't seem to become a problem for either one of them because they're kinda like brothers in a way in different species and both of them just laugh with each other and Blaze is much more excited about Max's birthday and said, "When is it?"

"In seven weeks." Max replied.

"Seven weeks? Man, why can't it come faster? I want to have fun on your birthday." Blaze said, whining.

Max became aware that Blaze is not so much a patient person and he does try to help him find patience, but sometimes Blaze wants things immediately and right this second, but Max would always keep him occupied in other things and he said, "You will. I wanted to tell you that you are invited to come."

That made Blaze whoop in joy and let out the most enthusiastic smile and said, "So excited!"

"Wanna hang out at the Jade Palace and see what the masters are up to?" asked Max.

Blaze immediately got down on all fours and signals Max to hop on and as he got on Blaze, the twosome made their way to the Jade Palace and Max wasn't sure how the palace masters, plus the Elemental Hazards will react when they find out how old Max is soon, but will not be surprised that he's getting older as he celebrates his upcoming 12th birthday for the last time with the palace masters.

* * *

Stick around for more awesomeness!


	4. Visiting the Jade Palace

And we get to see Blaze and Max enter the palace and they run into Shifu...in a much funny way. At least for Blaze.

* * *

Chapter 4: Visiting the Jade Palace

As Max and Blaze walked to the Jade Palace steps...or rather flew through the palace steps, they walked to the front door and Blaze knocked on the door very loudly and almost immediately, the door opens immediately and Blaze blinked his eyes and replied, "Wow...that was quick."

"No one answered the door, dude." Max replied.

Both of them entered in the Hall of Heroes for a second and Max was surprised that it was empty around this day, but not surprised that most of them are busy training and Blaze looks around each and every artifact that's surrounds the place and takes a little liking to the golden dragon right on the top of the Moon Pool and he widened his eyes at the sight and he said, "Is that part of my ancestors?"

"Kinda looks like it, but it's hard to tell." Max answered.

Blaze initially thought that it would be the real thing and to make sure, he looks at it and said, "Hello? Are you part of my family?"

"I am you, am I?"

Blaze gasped in shock and had no idea that it could actually talk and said, "Did you just say something?"

"Yes, what makes you think that I didn't?"

"Well...I couldn't tell whether you're a statue or a spirit from a statue." Blaze answered.

"Just turn around, Blaze."

Blaze nods his head and then takes a quick glance at Shifu with a wave, then turned his focus back on the dragon and asked, "So...how can you get down there if you're made of statue?"

Max snickered quietly at this, knowing that it's actually Shifu doing the voice of the golden dragon and Max said, "Blaze...you may want to take another look."

Blaze looks up and sees Shifu again with his arms folded and that caused him to get embarrassed as he had no idea that it was him and that might've been the golden dragon actually talking and just stared at Shifu and asked, "Really, dude? Did you have to go there?"

"I believe the term is Master." Shifu said, very sternly.

Max chuckled amusedly and said, "Good morning, Shifu."

"Morning, Maximus. What do I owe this pleasure of your visit?" asked Shifu.

"Well...just wanted to drop in and see what everyone's up to. I know some of them are training right now so we just stopped by to say hi." Max answered.

Shifu nods his head and he said, "I see. I met with your brother at Mr. Ping's noodle shop yesterday and he told me that you're gonna be 12 in a few weeks."

"Yeah, I am. I think it's kinda bittersweet for two reasons; that I'm actually getting older because I don't feel any older and secondly, it'll be the last birthday I get to share with you and the others." Max replied.

Shifu is made aware that in a short span of a few months or so, Max and the rest of the Bushido-Akio clan will be leaving the Valley of Peace and move to Shanghai Secluded Valley so that Musaki will be closer to his relatives and said, "I understand. I hope you know how special each moment my students will have spending with you. I know that some of the Hazards will be brokenhearted if you leave."

"I know...but I'll drop by and visit sometime. Secluded Valley is like an hour's dragon flight from here...unless if you walk, it'll take about all day." Max replied.

"Very well. I just hope I'll live long enough to see you grow into a very amazing person." Shifu stated.

Max seemed preplexed by Shifu's statement and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Nothing for you to worry about right now, Max. As long as we make your birthday the best around here, there's nothing we cannot do." Shifu added.

Max chuckled nervously as he rubbed his arm about that suggestion and he said, "Yeah, about that..."

"Or...if you perfer a quiet dinner with your family and you want us there, that is fine too." Shifu added.

Max was definitely surprised that Shifu caught wind of what Max actually wants for his birthday, but is relieved that Shifu understood his desires and he said, "I'm gonna miss your understanding nature."

"Not as much as I will miss your positivity and humility...those are the two things that are required for an inner warrior like yourself." Shifu added.

"Well, what about me?" asked Blaze.

Shifu sighed at this and responded, "You are the first dragon that that has an inner and outer warrior to defend your friend and has shown your loyalty towards Max as he has shown loyalty to you. As far as everything else...I wouldn't comment on that."

"I'm gonna miss you too! Come here, you little lug!" Blaze replied, picking Shifu up for a big hug and a giant noogie.

"Get off me!" Shifu exclaimed, struggling to breathe.

Shifu got off of him quickly and landed on the ground and he looks at Blaze and exclaimed, "Don't ever do that again!"

"Sorry." Blaze said, with an innocent giggle.

"So...should we wait for the others?" asked Max.

Shifu had got a much better idea in mind as he stroked his beard and lets out a humble smirk and said, "Better yet..."

* * *

Next up, Blaze and Max meet up with the Jade Palace masters and students!


	5. Reactions

The Jade Palace masters and students are surprised to hear Max's age!

* * *

Chapter 5: Reactions

Max and Blaze follow Shifu to the courtyard and as they entered, Max could only see Layla and Tigress doing a little bit of training and Takami had to watch because he's nursing a broken arm due to an injury he had occured sometime ago that involved a training skill gone wrong and ever since then, Takami has felt like the world crashed all over him and Max was aware of Takami's injury and has made several attempts to cheer him up with little success. All three watched as they saw Tigress and Layla train and spar with each other even further and Layla blew everyone away when he not only did her own take on tigress style, but far exceeded beyond that style, which shocked Tigress and Takami.

Tigress' jaw was dropped when she saw what Layla just did and she said, "Now that is Layla style."

Layla was deeply humbled that that move she just made had been dubbed Layla style and she bowed to that and she said, "Thank you, Tigress. I've never had a move named after me before."

"Congratulations, Lay." Takami said, with a half smile.

"You did amazing!" Max exclaimed, suddenly.

Max's enthusiastic cheer brought their attention as they turned to Max and Layla became the first to greet him and she comes over to him and said, "Long time no see, Max."

"Hi, Layla." Max said, smiling.

Tigress could tell that Layla has a soft spot for Max because she does have a motherly-like persona towards him, but she notices Layla being very surprised that Max is getting a little older and Layla said, "Max...am I seeing things or have you gotten older?"

"I'm gonna be 12 in 7 weeks." Max explained.

Layla was shocked by how old Max will be soon and asked, "12?! You're kidding!"

"Nope. I'm gonna be 12 years old." Max answered.

Takami couldnb't help but overhear what just happened and he stood up as he walked over towards Max and he responded, "Wow...you're not so little anymore, huh?"

"Nope. Though...I don't feel older." Max added.

"Trust me, Max...when you get older, you're gonna see what the world really looks like from a different perspective when you get in your teen years." Takami added.

"Takami...Max has experienced some things that he wasn't ready to see when he was younger." Tigress hinted.

Then, Takami realized that Max had already had an early dose of a rude awakening on how the world was when he was being tortured and abused by his birth parents and bullied when he was at the orphanage and being that he had went through so much hardship, it made him a much stronger person and had a different perspective whenever surrounded by positive people who lift him up whenever he's down and he takes every single hard knocks and uses it as a positive to get through some hard times, which shifts into his understanding, compassionate, empathetic, wise and positive personality that made a tremendous influence on everyone around him.

Before Takami could get a chance to respond, the other members of the Elemental Hazards plus Po and four of the Furious Five walk out of the training hall and many were surprised to see Max come in and they all said, "Hey, Max!"

Max looks at them and said, "Hi, guys!"

"We didn't know you'd be coming." Viper said, slithering towards him.

"Well...I just wanted to come over and say hi." Max replied.

Kiba immediately comes over to Max and just picks him up for a big hug, only to realize that Max is gotten bigger and he said, "Man, you're heavy."

"I'm not that heavy." Max said, laughing.

"How did you get so big?" asked Crane.

"Hopefully, not from Po." Monkey said, ending it with a giggle.

Po rolled his eyes at that comment Monkey made and just said, "Very funny, Monkey."

Max clears his throat and he looks at everyone and he said, "In the next 7 weeks, my birthday is coming over. You guys are definitely invited to come over."

"Nice! Will there be cake?!" Po said, getting excited.

Max knew that whenever Po brings up cake, he knows that he'll be there for cake or many other foods that he'll see in first sight and he chuckled softly and said, "We'll see."

"How old will you be?" asked Faith.

"12."

And that right there shocked everyone to the huge core after hearing Max's age that he'll turn and many found it hard to believe that he's gonna be 12 and even Kiba was shocked to hear that he'll be that age and he said, "Dude! That is an awesome age!"

"So...you're gonna be a tween?" asked Skyler.

"A tween?" asked Max.

"Somewhere between a kid and a teenager. When you reach 11, 12 or 13, you're a tween and when you hit 14, you're a teenager already." Skyler answered.

"Sometimes, you start thinking that you know more than anyone else and if you're being told to do something that doesn't seem right for you, you fight against it." Ryo stated.

"It could be like doing chores, cleaning up your room and stuff." Hope added.

Max could already tell that those experiences that comes with being a teenager might be on the horizon, but he knows that he'll never turn into one of them after witnessing his adopted brothers as teenagers and how they interact in many ways and Max said, "Well...I know that's what it comes down to, but I also know that I'll never turn out like them at all."

"Of course you won't. You are much more respectful in anyway." Shifu agreed.

Blaze laid down on the ground and listened in on the conversation and walks towards Tigress and asked, "So...do you want a ride to the sky again?"

"No way. You've given me enough rides to the sky and I know that you're still gonna mess with me." Tigress stated, with a stern voice.

"Aww...what gave it away?" asked Blaze.

Max turned to Blaze and he said, "Don't make Tigress puke again. Last time she did, you were laughing so hard that you literally peed on her new clothes."

"Oh yeah...that was funny." Kiba said, laughing.

Tigress glared at Kiba for a second and that made him stop laughing and Tigress said, "Want to see what your lungs look like when I take them out of your throat?"

Kiba kept his mouth shut immediately afterwards and backed away slowly and Tigress added, "That's what I thought."

* * *

Hilarious! Stay tuned for more!


	6. Witnessing a Crush

As Max gets older, he gets to see what any other pre-teen goes through, center of girls' attention. How will Saori handle it?

* * *

Chapter 6: Witnessing a Crush

Around the same time that Max was heading back home along with most of the Five, he saw a couple of girls around his age waving at him and giggling as they're looking at him. Although he's very polite towards them, Max has his sights set on one girl...Saori. Though he couldn't help but wonder why are all those young girls interested in Max all of a sudden. He could never figure out why that is the case, but as Monkey witnessed all those girls saying hi to Max and them waving at him, he looked at the adolescent tiger cub and just lets out a very sly smile on his face and walked towards him and said, "You're quite the charmer, kiddo."

Max was confused on what that meant and asked, "Me?"

"Yep, all those girls are falling over for you." Monkey said, elbowing him.

Max blinked his eyes and took a few glances at Monkey wondering if what he said was true, but as soon as one of those girls walked towards Max, it suddenly hit him...he's a chick magnet.

"Hello, Max! You're so cute!" one girl exclaimed.

"We're on your MMA class. I don't know if you remember, but I was your sparring partner one day." another girl replied.

"Um...I think I do remember you." Max said, scratching the back of his head.

Both girls were giggling at the same time and they both walked off with their hearts fluttering and Max was just confused on what just happened and Monkey said, "Like I said, you are charming with the ladies."

"I'm flattered, but I've got only one on my mind." Max replied.

"Oh...you mean Saori? I saw the way you always look at her whenever she walks your way." Blaze said, teasing at Max.

Tigress blinked her eyes as she overhears what Blaze was talking about with her stepdaughter and she was made aware that Max has a crush on Saori for a while and sometimes used to have a lot of resentment over Max his positive and forgiving nature, but since she's become friends with him now, she hopes that she'll make up for lost time to leave in friendly terms before Max leaves the Valley of Peace for good and she said to Max, "She's always been talking about you a lot."

That made Max's heart flutter and asked, "Really? What would she say?"

"That she would want to be your mate for life." Tigress replied.

Max was speechless on that bombshell and did not expect to hear that from Saori and asked, with a squeaky voice, "She did?"

"Yeah." Tigress replied.

"Oooh...someone's starting mating season early." Monkey said, giggling.

And not long afterwards, Max looks up and sees Saori walking with her finest dress with pants underneath it and the more Max stares at her, the most fascinated and intrigued he became whenever he looks into her eyes and once they locked, Max blinked a few times and he said, "Hi, Saori."

"Hello, Max. Hi, everyone!" Saori said, waving at them.

"Hello, Saori." everyone but Max responded.

Saori comes towards Max and she said, "So...whatcha doing?"

"Um...we were just talking about you." Max answered.

Before Saori could respond, she notices a couple of other girls staring at him and waving at him and also locking eyes with Saori as a warning to say 'I had him first', but Saori gave them a much half menacing look that reads, 'He's taken, so back off' and as they're walking, Saori looks at Max and asked, "How come all these girls were looking at you?"

"That's a good question. But I've already got one girl on my mind...and she's right in front of me." Max answered.

Saori was definitely happy to hear that Max has her and only her on his mind and she said, "I hope you don't forget about me when you leave the Valley of Peace."

"I'll visit and I'll send your letters whenever I can." Max said, in reassurance.

Both tigers gazed into each other's eyes as they have forgotten that everyone is looking and Saori takes him somewhere that no one can see and once they headed to the front porch of the Bushido-Akio's, Saori kissed him on the lips and Max responded back as well with a kiss. Max had no idea about this feeling, but he somehow wraps his arms around her and at the age of 11, he has no idea what that moment of getting a first kiss is like, but he likes the feeling of it.

Both of them were unaware that Samurai, Tsunami and Sage were watching and all three were shocked to see Max kissing Saori and Samurai said, "Should we tell dad?"

* * *

Stay tuned because it's about to get real...with Max's adopted siblings teasing him about liking girls!


	7. Introduction to Adolescence

And the news of Max and Saori's kissing spreads through the Bushido-Akio house...to his brothers, of course.

* * *

Chapter 7: Introduction to Adolesence

After getting an unexpected kiss from Saori, Max walks back to his house for a second as Blaze hangs around in the front porch talking with the palace masters, but it was the way that Max walked into the house almost as if he's in heaven as he silently entered the room, closed the door and just puts his head against the door, sighing in pure satisfaction that he and Saori kissed. Even though he's not at the age of 12 yet, he feels like he's in cloud nine and just began to feel what falling in love feels like.

Not long afterwards, Max came back to his senses and just walked to the house in a good mood and saw his brothers hanging out like everything is normal, but Max could kinda sense that they know something, but didn't want Max to figure it out yet and he walks to the kitchen and he said, "Hey, guys."

"Hey, Max. How's it going?" asked Samurai, reading his comic book.

Max picked up some fruit as he sat down on the chair and used his claws to peel off the skin of the apple and eats it and Tsunami looked at Max and said, "So...how are things?"

"Pretty good. You?" asked Max.

"Oh, just fine. Just great." Tsunami replied, drawing a dragon.

As Max was eating, he couldn't help but have this funny feeling that someone knows something that Max doesn't know, but is able to wait it out until he gets the gist of what's really going on, but at the same time, his panda brothers know that he's growing up with that first kiss they witnessed without his knowledge. Phoenix walks downstairs and he looks at Max with the most sly look ever and he said, "Hey, buddy! How's life?"

"Pretty good. Life is really, really good." Max answered, with a smile.

When Phoenix saw that smile, he could tell that something's up with Max that made his heart flutter up in the air, but he also spots the lipstick smudge on his cheek and tries to hold his laughter in so that Max doesn't know. When Phoenix got a chance to compose himself, he clears his throat and asked, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Max replied, reaching in for a cup of water to drink.

"It's gonna be kind of a spur of the moment, but...how did you enjoy your first kiss with Saori?" asked Phoenix.

Max spat out his water in complete shock the minute Phoenix asked him that question and blinked several times, yet Samurai and Tsunami didn't flinch quickly and Max turned to Phoenix and asked, "How did you know that?"

"Let's just say we kinda...saw you kissing Saori on the front porch earlier." Phoenix replied.

Max froze for a second and then slowly turned to Phoenix almost as if they figured it out in the realest way possible and he asked, "How did you see us?"

"We were looking at the window upstairs. Me, Sam, Tsunami and Sage." Phoenix added.

Then, Max's shock grew completely higher as he turned to Samurai and Tsunami who were very nonchalant about this and he asked, "You knew, didn't you?"

"You're a stud, Max. We can tell you were kissing up a storm." Tsunami replied.

"I never thought that our little brother would be a kisser. I never would've thought...but hey, you got the Bushido-Akio genes when it comes to the ladies." Samurai said, smiling.

Max seemed very confused on what that meant and asked, "What genes?"

Samurai could tell that Max has no idea what it all meant, despite the fact that he's an adopted Bushido-Akio and said, "Maybe dad can help. He has more experience than most of us, but we're slowly figuring it out piece by piece."

"I hope dad doesn't know that I kissed a girl." Max replied, a little nervous.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that."

And from the minute he heard his dad's voice right behind him, Max felt a few chills go down his spine as Mako walks over to Max and said, "I think it's time I give you the talk, Max."

* * *

Mako gives Max the talk! Wonder how that will turn out!


	8. The Talk

Mako gives Max a little bit of the birds and bees talk...very common for an 11-year old.

* * *

Chapter 8: The Talk

Mako takes Max to his room and the minute they entered the room, Max was a little anxious to hear about the birds and bees talk from his dad, but it's also very difficult to Mako to explain every single details of it to a young tiger cub, yet he also knows it's not the first time he's ever given the talk to his kids before so that they can learn what it all boils down to. Mako and Max sat down on the edge of the bed and Mako took a deep breath and knows that there's no turning back and looks at Max and said, "I saw you kissing Saori on the window earlier. It kinda got me thinking that I need to tell you about the birds and the bees."

Max nodded his head as he gets to hear everything his panda father is trying to say without making it seem awkward or weird, but it does seem weird to tell this to an 11 year old, but it's just in order to make sure Max doesn't make a mistake when he gets to the teen years because his hormones may come into the forefront soon when it comes to girls and Mako jumped straight into it.

While taking a deep breath and said, "You know, you're at the age where you start to like girls a lot...like a whole lot. And I know you have feelings for Saori, but I just hope that it doesn't lead to...you know, starting something too early."

"Like mating?" asked Max.

And that kinda stunned Mako to know that Max has already figured it out himself and he wasn't sure what else to say, but he asked, "How'd you know that?"

"Sometimes I would catch Akashi talking about it and I had no idea what it meant." Max answered.

"Well...what that term means is that guy and a girl come together to make babies. But that do that when they're married on that one special moment they have together. Some young kids don't want to wait that long and they just go for it...like I used to when I was a teenager. I was 17 when I had Cody and it just became a huge deal in my life knowing that I could've controlled myself back then. At the time, I just didn't think about things, but now...I only wished I knew now what I could've back then." Mako added.

Just hearing that revelation from Mako made Max completely surprised that he was that young when Cody was born and that's the trap that he doesn't want to get in as he gets older and he blinks his eyes in response to that and Mako looks at Max and said, "You see, you're a young cub and you have the freedom to just enjoy your childhood, but when you reach your later teen years, things are gonna be different and I just want you to make good decisions for yourself. If someone wants you to mate a girl early, just have the courage to say no. Some kids have their own kids too early because they never know what's right and wrong. You understand my point, right?"

"I think I'm halfway there." Max said, scratching the back of his neck.

Mako sighed at that response and he replied, "Maybe this might help a little. Do you like cookies?"

"Of course I love cookies." Max replied, his ears perked.

"Well...you know when you see a cookie, you can eat it to your heart's desire with no limits. But there's this one special cookie that has your sights set on and you just want to eat it immediately, but it's just too special to have it yet. Because there's something very important with that cookie that you may not have noticed and you have to take your time to really fall in love with it...until that one special day when you can finally eat it. It may take months, even years to even savor that cookie, but once you realize how important it is to you, the end result is well worth the wait. It's the same way as kissing a girl on a special day, you just wait until you're fully committed to her and then you kiss her on that day." Mako explained.

Max slowly got the message all filled in already and he said, "I see. So...I just have to wait until it's okay?"

"Yes. I know that cookie part sounds kinda confusing to you, but that's the point I'm trying to make. Whatever's important, you just have to have patience until that special day comes. Understand?" asked Mako.

"Yes, dad." Max replied.

"And if you have any more questions about this, don't hesitate to come to me. It's a very hard subject to talk about to a cub, but it's the only way to tell you before you come to the point where you have kids too early. So just enjoy your childhood when you can." Mako responded.

"I will." Max said, with a smile.

Max walked out of his father's room, but when the door opened, in comes Samurai and Phoenix who tumbled down to the floor and Max and Mako were surprised to know that they've been eavesdropping the whole time and Samurai grunted and said, "I told you to back up, Phoenix!"

"Well, I would if you hadn't have got your big gut on the other side of the door!" Phoenix exclaimed.

"I wanted to get a better hearing." Samurai said, with a sneer.

Mako folded his arms and cleard his throat loudly, which caused both Samurai and Phoenix to look at thier father with a very stern look on his face and realized that they got caught and they said, "Hey, dad."

"Were you boys eavesdropping?" asked Mako.

"I told Phoenix it was a bad idea!" Samurai said, pointing to Phoenix.

Phoenix looked completely offended by that and said, "It was your idea in the first place. You said 'Let's hear every little morsel that dad is telling Max about mating' before we went upstairs!"

"That's a lie!" Samurai exclaimed.

"Enough! You boys know better than to eavesdrop!" Mako exclaimed.

Max can tell that Samurai and Phoenix are busted and at that moment, he walked out of the room without saying another word and as he walked downstairs, he began thinking about what Mako said and he understood that very quickly that he has to wait until that special time where they can kiss, but it'll take some time for that to happen. Tsunami noticed Max walking by and he said, "How'd it go?"

"It was pretty good. I think I just got some lessons learned from dad about waiting for the right time for me to kiss Saori...although it might be hard because I have feelings for her and I'm almost a pre-teen." Max answered.

Tsunami chucked in agreement and said, "Welcome to the complicated time period we call adolescence, dude."

* * *

Very interesting! This chapter became the most important part for me because I started it one Saturday morning; February 6th, 2016...which was the day that I saw 'Kung Fu Panda 3' and after I saw it, I finished it up! My first story with a KFP 3 tie-in is coming soon! Till then, stay tuned for more!


	9. How Much You've Grown

A heart-to-heart talk with Reiko and Max about how far he's come...

* * *

Chapter 9: How Much You've Grown

Soon after the talk about the birds and the bees, Max walks downstairs with a few things pondering in his head about that talk he had with Mako in terms of how to present himself as a gentleman around a girl and how to wait for his very first kiss as he gets older and that they won't end up having kids while they're still kids. Still though, he does wonder what it's gonna be like when he reaches his full teen years and how he's gonna get through a lot of crazy stuff that happens during that time, but he knows that he'll never fall into a trap where the thinks he knows more than anyone else does and that he will remain his true, humble self and have that around him soon.

As he makes it downstairs, he walks to the wall where he sees the lines in which most of the younger kids measure themselves based on height and he walks over to his and sees that he's grown above almost 9 inches. Very quickly, Reiko walks over and puts another mark on the wall near Max's head that fits almost his height and she was still surprised that Max has gotten so taller and said, "Max...I can't believe that you're growing up so quickly."

"Me neither. And so fast too." Max said, with a slight chuckle.

"In just 7 weeks, you will be 12. I can hardly believe it in my own eyes." Reiko said, amazed.

Max blinks his eyes a few times and is really thinking about getting older and said, "I know I'm growing up, but I hardly feel any older."

"It always happens to the best of us. We may not even know it, but time goes by so fast that it's hard to figure it all out in one moment until you realize that it's coming true. Not many people stay young forever, but we will always carry the memories we have so we can tell our future children about the times we had when we were young, but of course...the mistakes we may make along the way so that we wouldn't see the same ones we made into them." Reiko added.

Max nodded at this and he knows a much more personal wish that he would want for his future cubs one day and he said, "If I had kids, I wouldn't want them to go through what I went through as a cub; feeling like they were worthless. And I would never, ever do anything to hurt them at all...like my birth father did to me."

Reiko nods her head and knowing that Max had been through a tremendous amount of hell when he was younger with his birth parents and she can tell that he's acknowledging that he'll never follow in his birth father's footsteps when he gets married and have kids of his own and she said, "Sometimes, most people aren't meant to be parents because they don't know what it's like to have a parent's love and I feel so sorry for the kids that have to live with it. And I'm proud of the fact that you're gonna put their first interests soon."

"I would want them to enjoy their childhood and love them the way they're supposed to be loved." Max added.

"You're very mature, Maximus."

Both of them turned around to see Shifu coming in and as he walked by, Reiko and Max bowed to him and Shifu chuckled modestly and said, "Forgive me for intruding like this, but I couldn't help but overhear what Max has elaborated with you."

"How did you hear us?" asked Reiko, very surprised.

"My ears capture everything...and your door was open." Shifu answered.

Max blinked his eyes at this and he asked Shifu, "You didn't quite hear the part about dad giving me the talk, did you?"

"No." Shifu answered.

"Okay then." Max said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Would you and the masters like to stay for lunch?" asked Reiko.

"Lunch?! We'll stay!" Po said, coming in immediately along with the rest of the Five, the Elemental Hazards and Blaze.

"Seems as if we should stick around for a while." Shifu added, with an amused chuckle.

* * *

Sweet and funny! Stay tuned for more!


	10. Preparations for Max's 12 Birthday

And the plans for Max's 12th birthday involves the Jade Palace masters...

* * *

Chapter 10: Preparations for Max's 12th Birthday

Mako and most of his kids, stepkids as well as Reiko plus some of Max's close friends from the MMA class were meeting at the Jade Palace to discuss what Max's wants for his 12th birthday and as they entered in the room, Mako anxiously waited for some of the masters to come in and participate in this discussion so they'll know what to do. Just the fact that Max is turning 12 makes Arizona surprised to know that his ltitle tiger brother has grown up a little bit and it made him stop and think where did the time go. As happy as he is about Max growing up, there's a little part of him that isn't ready for him to be older yet because he feels as if he hasn't fulfilled his role as a big brother, despite the fact that he is a father now.

After several minutes of waiting, in comes Shifu, the Five and Po coming in the Hall of Heroes as they see Mako and his family as well as Max's friends, plus his trainer Jason and his panther foster father coming by and Shifu was definitely surprised by the amount of loved ones Max has gained recently and just then, the Elemental Hazards, plus Akashi, Miyo and Saori came into the forefront and joined the masters as well and Akashi said, "Can we make it fast? Miyo and I have some private smooching to keep up with."

"All in good time, Akashi." Mako replied.

All of the masters sat down as well as Mako and his family and he clears his throat and said, "Glad you're all here and thank you for taking the time to come together so we can all plan something for Max's 12th birthday. As far as you know, we're keeping it all a surprise while Max is out dragon riding with Blaze."

That part alarmed Viper the most with Max riding with his dragon friend and she asked, "And you didn't stop him?"

"Max has got some safety gear of his own...that we didn't know about." Samurai replied.

"Actually, I gave him some safety gear a few months ago...him and Blaze." Akashi pointed out.

"And we are grateful for that. Now, for more important matters...in seven weeks, Max will be 12 years old and he says he wants a small, intimate dinner with all of you guys here at our house. I'm just hoping that we can all make this happen." Mako answered.

"A small birthday dinner?" asked Akashi.

"Yep. He doesn't want a surprise birthday party extravaganza. He's very appreciative of those he had before, don't get us wrong. This time around...he just needs a small party with no hype, no extravagants and no big fuss about it. Just you guys and us together in this small dinner to celebrate his 12th birthday, since this will be the last birthday he'll celebrate here at the Jade Palace because after Musaki's 21'st birthday, we'll be moving to Shanghai Secluded Valley so we can all be closer to our relatives." Mako answered.

And this is where it gets real...in a few short months since Musaki will be 21 this year, the Bushido-Akio clan will be leaving the Jade Palace for good and it was a moment that many were expecting, but not all of the Jade Palace masters are ready to say goodbye to Max or anyone else there...especially Tigress. Shifu nods his head understanding the reason behind it and said, "What do you need us to do to help?"

"What I want you guys to do is to just help out with getting everything in order from decorations and also clean up for Max's birthday at the house. Our house has always been clean, but in most days, it can get a little messy." Mako replied, saying the last sentences towards most of his kids with a stern glare.

"Don't blame us. Sage messes up 87% of the house." Tsunami said, in his defense.

"Well, what about the other 13%?" asked Zoey, her hands on her hips.

Samurai tried to think of an explanation for it and only responded, "It could've been anyone."

Mako knew that this was not the time to talk about it and he just went forward with the planning for Max's birthday and he said, "Anyways...Miyo, can you bake a cake for Max?"

"Of course I will! Max has been like one of my sons to me and I would be honored to make a cake for him." Miyo replied, happily.

"And Akashi...the one job you have is to keep your aura closed so that you don't give Max any immediate details about the party." Mako stated.

"My aura's always on when I something's up around everyone, like last night when Tigress and Taiga mated in her room." Akashi spat out.

That part shocked everyone and Tigress was fuming with embarrassment that Akashi would spit it out in front of everyone that she had a moment with Taiga the night before and Shifu was even speechless to hear it and Akashi realized that his aura has captured the most private moments and Mako turned to the younger kids and said, "You didn't hear that part, right?"

"No." they all replied.

"I think I should turn my aura off." Akashi said, chuckling nervously.

"Moving on then before Akashi fills out heads with more disturbing images...we've got seven weeks to plan this out. Hazards, you, Musaki and Arizona are in charge of gifts. Nothing too extravagant, nothing fancy. Kids, you make sure that Max doesn't know about the party. Samurai, you and Okami will be busy on the menu, Miyo can handle the cake and the rest of us will look over every detail to see that it's fit for Max. Po...since you have the mind of a kid, think about what a 12 year old would want for his birthday." Mako added.

"No probs! I've been known to think like a 12 year old." Po responded.

"And you act like one too." Mantis finished off.

"One question though; how come we're having the meeting here?" asked Takami.

"Because there's barely enough space at our house." Mako answered.

Takami then feels stupid for even asking that question and Ryo elbowed him and said, "Nice move, T."

Ryo elbowed him again, causing his injured arm to be tested again and responded with a loud, "OWWWWWWWWWW!"

Not realizing that Takami's arm is still injured, Ryo grits his teeth in embarrassment and chuckled nervously and said, "Sorry, Takami. Forgot you had an injured arm."

"Ya think?!" Takami exclaimed.

* * *

So...where is Max in all of this? The answer is in the next chapter!


	11. Flying Around

As the party gets planned, Max takes to the skies with Blaze!

* * *

Chapter 11: Flying Around

On the skies, Blaze flew at top speed with Max right beside him and Max has worn some safety pads on his hands, elbows, legs and a mask to keep from every parts of his body from any massive trauma or injury that he might sustain should a very serious situation should occur unexpectedly, but Blaze always knows that he'll keep Max safe from any harm. Max lets out a huge whoop through the air and Blaze knows that it's a sign that Max is having the time of his life and he asked, "Feels good, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, you're telling me! I wish I could fly like you, Blaze." Max exclaimed.

"Well, you gotta have wings like I have. No one taught me how to fly, so I just taught myself how to." Blaze replied.

Max widened his eyes after that revelation Blaze made about him teaching himself to fly and it just lets him know that his dragon friend has to rely on himself to be independent and for some reason, it struck a chord with Max because he had to learn how to fend for himself when he was younger while he was in the crossfire of his birth parents' voliatle relationship that ended in violence every night and he said, "Wow...that must've been hard for you."

"Learning how to fly by yourself is much harder than when someone teaches you how to. And I wasn't exactly as patient at the time." Blaze admitted.

"You're still not patient now." Max added.

Blaze scoffs at that comment and he said, "Moving on...want to go higher?"

"Bring it on, Blaze!" Max exclaimed.

"All right, hang on tight!" Blaze exclaimed, as he went up higher and higher and higher into the air and as they went higher, they flew above the clouds. Max became deeply amazed by being surrounded by clouds and he reached up to the closest ones and felt the soft clouds blowing through them and he definitely feels at peace and blissful as he touches the clouds.

Blaze looks at Max for a second and just smiled at him for a while as he shared the same feeling he had when he flew through the clouds in the sky when he first flew the air and Blaze said, "Pretty cool, huh?"

"I'll say." Max agreed.

Just then, Max sees the sky shift from blue to a lighter orange and brown shade like the sun is starting to set and he and Blaze got a chance to witness the grand beauty of nature right in front of them and Max felt the sun beaming inside of him and just soaked it up with his arms wide open.

"That was the same thing I felt when I first saw the sun. It's just so beautiful...and awesome." Blaze said, amazed.

Blaze gently turns around and flew on his side while Max looks down on the ground and when he first saw it, he couldn't believe the angle he just witnessed from upside down and he was deeply amazed by all of this and Blaze looks at Max and asked, "How's the view?"

Max gave Blaze a thumbs up as a response and Blaze then turns his entire body back around and he dove head down out of the clouds and into the skies and flew all the way down to the ground as Blaze started spinning his body around as Max enjoys the ride. While there, Max sees the Jade Palace from a clear distance and Max had an idea of surprising most of the masters as he got in Blaze's ear and whispers an idea.

Once Blaze hears the idea, he was definitely down for it as he lowers himself down to the Jade Palace and from a clear spot, Blaze spots most of the Five standing there and hides out on the roof without anyone noticing and Max had sort of an idea to slide down and take everyone by surprise as he lands on his feet. With that Max, takes off his safety gear and just slid down on Blaze's back and jumps out of his tail and leaps up the air in a tiger stance position and for the landing, he did a corkscrew rotating position as Blaze looks up and watches from above and he roars in delight.

As soon as the masters heard the roar, Monkey blinks a few times and asked Tigress, "Was that you roaring?"

"No, it's not me." Tigress replied.

"Then...who else could it be?" asked Viper.

Po looks up at the sky and sees an unbelievable twisting force heading towards the palace steps and he was shocked to learn that it was a black and white striped individual coming at them and soon enough...

BOOOOM!

The impact shook most of the ground and all of them were stunned to learn that the person was Max standing in and he just exclaimed, "NAILED IT!"

"YEAH, MAXIM! That's my tiger boy! Go, Maxie! Go, Maxie! It's your birthday! It's your birthday!" Blaze exclaimed, doing a victory dance.

Max did a little victory dance too and Blaze's tail stuck out as Max gives his dragon friend a high tail snap and both of them were laughing at the same time and Blaze took a peek at them and said, "Sup?"

"Can I ask what was that move?" asked Monkey.

"My version of a tiger stance...but done in the air with a little help from Blaze." Max replied.

Most of them were shocked and clueless as to why Max came up with that move and Tigress was the most shocked and furious of everyone, but tried to keep it at a minimum and asked, "What idiot taught you that basic tiger stance?"

Max and Blaze looked at each other and then they looked at Tigress and they both replied, in unison, "You did."

Tigress stood there, really stunned and kinda speechless at that point that she taught him a tiger stance, but took a very Maximus original twist in it and Po was the only one that responds, "Max, that was...awesome! Can you show me how to do that?"

"Nah. Not sure if you can try it. Wouldn't want to break that Dragon Warrior butt of yours." Blaze replied.

"My Dragon Warrior butt can handle anything." Po said, with a smirk.

"Except not eating." Monkey muttered.

"So...what were you guys doing just now? Like, before we came over?" asked Max.

The masters could tell that Max wanted to know some details about his 12th birthday, but they knew that they're gonna keep it under wraps and they all responded, "Nothing..."

* * *

Max is always gonna live life to the fullest as he will always do! Stay tuned for more!


	12. A Favorite Cake

And you'll be surprised to know what kind of cake Max loves!

* * *

Chapter 12: A Favorite Cake

Towards the next few hours, Saori walked across the Valley of Peace to see Max and she brought in a pad and some ink to take notes on what kind of cake Max would like for his birthday in regards to cake frosting, flavors and types of cakes. She was assigned by Miyo to get some description on how he would want his birthday cake to be and soon enough, she spots Max walking to the noodle shop with Samurai and she caught up with them, but wanted to wait until Max was alone so she could do what Miyo assigned her to do.

She waited for a few seconds until Samurai heads to the kitchen to start working and it was time to make her move and she walked around nonchalantly and very affectionately as Max sits around, yet he could hear her prescence when some footsteps were coming behind her and before Max could even respond, Saori covered his eyes with her paws and said, "Guess who?"

Max is immediately familiarized with that voice anywhere and he smiled instantly and said, "Hi, Saori."

Saori uncovered his eyes and just smiled as he saw Max and both of them were just giggling as Max said, "What brings you here?"

Saori sat down on the other side of the seat and she said, "Well...just wanted to ask you something."

"I'm all ears." Max replied.

Saori locked eyes with him and asked, "Do you like cake?"

"I love cake. I try not to eat too much because then I'd get a stomachache, but I love cake anyways." Max answered.

"What type of cake would you like for your birthday?" asked Saori.

Max thought about this long and hard, but it didn't take him that long to decide what kind of cake he would love to have and he said, "I would just want a buttercream frosting kind of cake with a strawberry filling with only one layer with a picture of the Jade Palace with Po and the Furious Five around it. I would just imagine that cake coming in with 12 candles around it."

"And for the cake batter?" asked Saori.

"Buttercream. I love buttercream cakes." Max replied.

As Max began thinking about the type he would want for his birthday, Saori took some notes and wrote down the description of Max's birthday cake to send to Miyo and after she was done with the note, she put it in her pocket to keep Max from seeing it. Saori nodded at this and she said, "That must sound delicious."

"It is. I've loved buttercream cakes since I was 8 and it would be a dream come true for me to have one on my birthday." Max said, happily.

"You're so cute when you daydream." Saori said, with a giggle.

An hour later, Saori walked over to Miyo's bakery and as she entered in the room and she sees Miyo coming in through the kitchen and she walks to Miyo and said, "I got the description of Max's birthday cake."

"Thanks, Saori. Did Max ask anything about his birthday?" asked Miyo.

"Nope. It's all secretive." Saori replied.

"Perfect. Thanks, Saori. You can leave it there on the counter." Miyo replied.

Saori left the note on the counter and she made her way out of the bakery, waving bye to Miyo and after Miyo waved back at her, she picks up the note and when she opened it, she became deeply excited to see what kind of cake Max wants for his birthday and even though his birthday is less than seven weeks away, she will be determined to make that cake to the best of her ability.

"Max...your cake is gonna be amazing, just wait and see." Miyo said, happily.

* * *

Stay tuned to see what Max's birthday cake is like later in the story!


	13. Making Every Moment Count

And here's where to reality of Max getting older sinks in...

* * *

Chapter 13: Making Every Minute Count

The profound effect on the fact that the masters are gonna celebrate Max's birthday for the final time at in the Valley of Peace seems to be all too real for most of the masters because ever since they've gotten to know Max, most of them felt a huge attachment to this tiger cub and it's like he's a part of them because of his endless positivity, enthusiasm, a sense of gentle wisdom and learning to take chances by looking at the positive spin on a horrible ordeal. The one who's most affected by Max leaving was Tigress, who for a long time has treated him with so much disrespect and jealousy because she doesn't have what he's got, but Max has never shown cruelty towards her. To her, that shows a huge amount of strength and humility...something that she's slowly starting to gain.

Po took a deep sigh and said, "I just can't believe that he's gonna be leaving soon, guys."

"Me neither. I just can't believe he's growing up...and so fast." Monkey agreed.

Layla took the news of Max's depature from the Valley of Peace the hardest because she didn't think the day would come. Even though it will be time for Max to go, she wasn't ready to let him go yet because she sees him as her mother and sister at the same time and the fact that she'll celebrate Max's 12th birthday at the Jade Palace made her feel so upset. Takami could notice Layla's reaction right away and feeling like she could break down any minute, she quickly got up and left the Hall of Heroes without saying a word.

Layla's departure captured Takami's attention and he slowly walks up and left to check on her while the rest of the masters and students reflect on the time Max's amazing spirit and personality made a huge impact on everyone and share memories. Po recalled one particular one and stated, "Max really helped me getting my pants back from Monkey...when he pantsed me for the 8,00th time."

"The reason why I did is because I didn't want to be pantsed by a tiger cub. Let's put it that way." Monkey pointed out.

"Yeah, luckily...he got it back for me. Just wished that Max didn't see my butt though." Po said, very embarrassed.

"I think we need to forget about that part." Tigress pointed out.

Outside

Takami was looking around parts of the Jade Palace to look for Layla and as he kept walking, he knew the one place where anyone can get away...the Peach Tree. He walks towards the steps of the Peach Tree and when he heard someone crying, that's how he can tell that Layla's there. He silently walks over and sees Layla, just breaking down in tears. He could tell that Max's final birthday with the Jade Palace masters has made it hard for her to accept it and he said, "You okay?"

"No, I'm not! Max is leaving us and I just can't believe that we will never see him again! And the fact that we're gonna have his last birthday here with us?! I just can't stand it! I love the little cub like he's my son and I just don't want him to leave us! He's not ready, Takami!" Layla shouted, tearfully.

Takami could tell from that emotional outburst from Layla that she is scared that Max will leave and he came close to her and said, "Lay...we never expected it to come either. But you know...life happens. Max is growing up. It doesn't mean that he'll forget all about us."

"I know. It's just...I still see him as the little boy that I met. Just so adorable, precious and innocent. Part of me isn't ready for him to leave yet and stay a kid forever, but I know that another part of me wants to accept that fact that he's growing up." Layla replied.

Takami sat down next to her, trying to ease his injured arm and he said, "Layla...Max will always be with us in our hearts. It's not our decision on whether he should go or stay. All we have to do is just be there for him on his birthday. Who knows, maybe he'll visit us on occasions. We still have time left for Max, so let's make the most of it."

Layla wiped her tears and she knew that Takami's comforting words would always soothe her and she said, "You're right."

They hug each other and Takami tries not to squeeze her too hard because of his injured arm and they both walked back to the Jade Palace with the others so they can keep reminisicing their time they had with Max...together.

* * *

The reminiscing continues...


	14. Reminiscing

Reminiscing continues...

* * *

Chapter 14: Reminiscing

As Takami and Layla walked back to the Hall of Heroes, the rest of the masters and students were reminiscing about their time with Max as Kiba recalls his memory he had with Max and stated, "...this guy is a great hider. He would always try to trick me into finding him in his hiding spots and when I turn around, he's gone and he would find another hiding place. I would be like, 'Man, he's good' and I'd try to find him and the only way I know he's near me is when he yanks my tail and I'd catch him by surprise. This little cub is an amazing hider."

"Yeah, I can remember you going through my room to find him there." Ryo said, glaring at him.

"That was the one place I had thought he'd be hiding to." Kiba said, in his defense.

Ryo rolled his eyes with that defense and said, "Next time, if you plan to search my room, don't. I'll determine whether or not Max is there."

"That's not how the game works, Ryo. The seeker finds the person who is hiding." Takami pointed out.

"Do you remember the first time Max met Ligress?" asked Faith.

"Oh, yeah! He pranked her by accident when he threw some pies that were supposed to be for me because we had this prank war to see who can prank who the most and she was mad." Kiba said, trying hard not to laugh.

"Don't laugh! That was terrible! I didn't even know that you guys had this prank war and somehow, I got caught in the middle." Ligress added.

"We weren't intending on pranking you. And after that, you sorta yelled at Max like how Tigress used to yell at him and I felt kinda bad for both you and him after that." Kiba replied.

"I felt even bad for yelling at the little guy, partly because I didn't know who he was at the time, but when he apologized and actually forgave me, I felt even more guiltier because I expected him to retaliate against me for yelling at him, but I was actually surprised when he already forgave me already." Ligress added.

"I didn't understand it, either. I still don't understand it now, but I just learned that it's easier for him to let things go than keep bringing it back in your face...which is still a problem for me, even though everything he does makes a positive impact because I'm used to having people bring back my mistakes right in front of me." Tigress added.

"You forget that's what he does and that's who he is as a person. Despite all the hardship he had to suffer through in his early life. Yet we all wonder, how does a person who had been through it all and comes out with a positive attitude? It just shows a testament to his strength and his refusal to let the tragedy define him." Shifu answered.

"It's the mentality that 'I'm not gonna let this affect me and I'm not gonna be a prisoner of my past' that he's got. That's what I admire about him." Kaizer spoke out.

Hope agreed with that and he said, "I wish that we would have him forever."

Skyler, Faith, Mantis, Viper, Monkey, Po and Crane all agreed with that and Viper said, "And his adopted family are so nice and are just a pillar of light to the Valley of Peace."

"We're all gonna miss him, but of course...life goes on and so do we. But that does not mean we forget the ones that made a tremendous influence in our lives as we keep him in our hearts. So...let us make his birthday one that he will have." Shifu added.

"If he's gonna have his last birthday with us before he goes back to Shanghai Secluded Valley, let's end it with a bang." Monkey added.

"But let's not overdo it. We need to keep it simple." Crane pointed out.

"Simple? Dude, it's his final birthday to celebrate! I think we should end it with a bigger bang!" Mantis exclaimed.

"I have to agree with Mantis on that one." Po stated.

Shifu sighed at this and he said, "It is Max's birthday and we have less than seven weeks to plan through this with the Bushido-Akio's, so whatever it'll turn out, it will be on Max's recognizance." Shifu added.

"Yes, master." the masters and students replied.

* * *

Stick around for more!


	15. Preparations for Max's Birthday

And the prep for Max's birthday begins...

* * *

Chapter 15: Preparations for Max's Birthday

Over the next several weeks, the entire Bushido-Akio clan did some preparations for Max's birthday and they know that all Max wants is a simple, intimate dinner with his friends and family and he's gonna give him that...while the Jade Palace masters are busy prepping up for the final birthday bash, trying not to go over-extravagant with decorations, food and amazing fun things.

Samurai was assigned for the menu, Arizona, Musaki, Tsunami and Phoenix were getting the gifts and Miyo was busy developing the cake for Max while the rest of them assisted in any way they can for those duties and before they knew it, several of the people of the Valley of Peace wanted to participate in any way they can...most of which don't even know Max, but some do know the Bushido-Akio family because they're like a part of the community who are more than willing to pay it forward.

As the valley gets busy, Max and Blaze spent most of their time flying around the skies and Max felt like he's got total freedom with Blaze as they go way up in the air without a care in the world and he's just stoked up about being 12 in less than 2 weeks and he keeps wondering what that age would feel like soon because he knows most of his younger adopted siblings went through that age and he's hoping that it'll turn out to be an amazing experience as he gains a little bit of self-acceptance as he gets older.

Blaze looks at his tiger friend and he just saw Max feeling so happy and it makes him happy to know that he's happy as he kept flying up in the air further from the Valley of Peace and as they headed to Blaze's secret place, both of them spent most of the day just goofing off, laughing with each other, make faces on the reflections of the water and even a few water fights.

Blaze became the first person to splash on Max and just laughed, but Max playfully smirked at Blaze and splashed him back as well and both of them exclaimed, "WATER FIGHT!"

Both of them splashed water on each other as they're laughing with each other and chased each other playing tag all around the meadows, just not having a care in the world.

Meanwhile, time is starting to come down fast as Miyo makes some preparations on the butterscotch cake as she bakes the layers and sets the cake in the oven and makes the butterscotch frosting to go on top of the cake with a strawberry filling and she found a picture of the Jade Palace masters standing on the Jade Palace steps and that's the number one thing Max would want...so that he can remember them by.

"Max...we are all gonna miss you when you leave soon." Miyo whispered.

Samurai preps up the menu at home as he makes some of Max's all-time favorite foods; fried rice with shrimp, orange chicken with rice noodles, dumplings and also fried wontons along with cookies for dessert and with help from Zoey, Cody and Reiko, they're able to make it ahead of time before the dinner while Mako, Sierra, Summer and brought in the decorations to set on the day of his birthday.

Akashi and Saori were thinking of things to make his birthday at the Jade Palace more simple, yet some of the Jade Palace masters were thinking of different ways to make it all extravagant for him and Viper hinted that it has to be made simple and subtle...not too many surprises all at once.

Everyone had pitched in to help Max's birthday one heck of a celebration that he'll never forget and make this one the best one he's ever had because they all have one common goal...

Making Max feel special.

* * *

Stick around to see many more!


	16. Advice from the Elemental Hazards

And the Hazards share their advice about being 12 to Max!

* * *

Chapter 16: Advice from the Elemental Hazards

As Max's birthday dawns quickly, Max hangs out at the Peach Tree with the Hazards as they played a few games and look up at the sky to try and guess what clouds they're identifying with and both Kiba and Max became good guessers as they saw clouds that looks like a rabbit, panda, chicken and dumplings and both of them always joked with each other over random things and aside from Blaze, he and Kiba are inseparable. Soon afterwards, Max looked at them and he sees the Elemental Hazards as their bonus siblings in spite of different ages, species and elemental powers and he asked one of them, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, what is it?" asked Layla.

"It's about me being 12. Do you guys have any advice about that age and how I should go through it?" asked Max.

Ryo became the first one to answer the question for Max and he replied, "When you're 12, things about you start to change...like what type of girl you've got a crush on, your body changes, how looks matter to someone and unstable emotions. But when you're 12, you try to figure out what the world is like from your perspective and try to figure it out as you go along. When I was that age, all I could do is try to contain myself from my dark powers otherwise it'll consume me. I still carry that same feeling with me everyday and I'm always afraid I'll lose control and forget the people I love. You...you have a chance to just enjoy being a kid and live life to the extreme fullest. And I hate saying this...but I had been a little jealous of you because you have so much positivity because you went through a very heavy position in your life, but you made it out the other side...something I wished I had."

"You do have it, Ryo...you have people who care about you. Just look around." Max said, with a reassuring smile.

Ryo looks at the rest of the Hazards and realized that he is surrounded by those who do care about him and Max said, "I didn't know you were jealous of me, but at the same time, it doesn't matter. I would never be jealous of you or anyone else."

"Max's right. There's no reason or a need to be jealous of someone just because they have what you don't have. You just have to appreciate what you have." Takami added.

Ryo nods in agreement and he looks at the white tiger cub with a smile and said, "You're a remarkable little guy."

"Max...my advice to you about being 12 is just be very aware of who your friends are and just don't let other people influence you into doing something that you know is wrong. If they do that, find some new friends." Takami added.

"Or punch them in the face." Skyler said, smiling.

Max was taken aback from that instruction Skyler just laid out and then she giggled in response and said, "I'm just kidding."

"Sure you were." Ryo muttered.

Skyler swatted Ryo in the head hard and she asked, "You say something?"

Ryo rubbed his head to soothe the sting of being swatted by Skyler and said, "Also...Max, if you have a girlfriend that swats you..."

"Don't encourage him to what you were about to say." Skyler said, sternly.

Max seemed a little unsure about that advice Ryo was gonna give him, but Skyler turned to Max and said, "12 is a really crazy age. You're a guy and of course, you'll have to deal with girls a lot. But what I can tell you is just be nice to them and be good friends with them before you go to the next step when you hit 16 or 17. Enjoy being a kid because you're only a kid once."

"And I would have to agree with Skyler, particularly about girls. You're obviously very respectful towards girls and you treat them the way you would treat your sister. But when it comes to being 12, you have to deal with certain events when it comes to friends. Sometimes you'll get asked to do something that may consider stupid or that you know isn't right. But if they persist, you have to back down and refuse to take part in whatever they want you to do. You might lose a few friends because of that, but don't let that be your regret because if they were your real friends, they wouldn't want you to do stuff like that. Just choose your friends wisely." Faith added.

"Precisely. Friends are everything to you, but family is the best thing you could ever have. And it's not just blood relative, but it could be those around you. Like us, Akashi and Miyo and the Jade Palace masters. Always appreciate them and never take them for granted." Layla added.

"And one advice I have for being 12...just don't grow up too fast and think you know more than anyone else. Always learn something and take whatever mistake you may make and turn in into a life lesson." Kaizer responded.

"People are gonna say whatever they want to say about you that may not be true and they would expect you to be torn down, but don't let whatever they say get to you because they don't know what they're talking about. They don't make you who you are. Only you make yourself who you are at the end of the day." Hope added.

"I agree with Hope. Just be true to yourself and stay humble as the same kindhearted person you are. If anyone tries to sabotage you, let us know and we might fly by to Shanghai Secluded Valley to teach them a thing or two. But don't fight back at them because you'll be the same as they are. Just walk away from it." Kiba stated.

"I would fight those jerks who tried to hurt you. I was 12 once and it's a very complicated age. You have to deal with a lot of things like someone making you do something you don't want to do and you just rebel against it and do whatever you want to do. But I can clearly see in you that you're the total opposite. What I would say is always just be yourself and always treat people the way you to be treated." Ligress added.

Max took in all of those words of wisdom from most of the Hazards and in sharing their experiences to him, he's able to soak those in and absorb them into his mind and into his heart. Max looks at Layla and he said to him, "I'll write you and Takami and the rest of you guys everyday when I leave. Until then, let's enjoy some of the time we have left together."

"Exactly." Layla replied.

"Do you guys remember the time that I lead this mission a few years ago?" asked Max.

"Are you kidding? You were the best leader ever! You made simplicity the main core and kept us all together, even when we're going insane." Kiba added.

"Yeah, I gotta admit...you were a much better leader than I would've been. Watching you lead has made me a much better leader and that's what I'm trying to strive for." Takami agreed.

"Especially with all the moves and quick thinking. Plus, you weren't a dictator at all. You just treated us very fairly and took charge...for someone who was eight years old at the time was remarkable." Hope stated.

"Where was I?" asked Ligress.

"Well, we didn't meet you then." Kiba answered.

All of them kept conversing and reminiscing about Max's first mission as well as other memories they had with him and those are the types of memories that they'll keep in their hearts. Although in the next couple of days, Max's birthday is coming faster and faster and Max is gonna live up the final days of being 11 before hitting the pre-teen stage soon.

* * *

Stick around for more Maximus!


	17. Dragon Riding

Dragon riding at its finest!

* * *

Chapter 17: Dragon Riding

It's the week of Max's birthday and he has only a few days left until he reaches 12 years old and there's nothing he'd like more than go on a dragon ride with Blaze and as he met up with him, he sees Saori coming this way and he just couldn't help but look at her beauty and prescence as she walks by him and he sighed deeply as he stares at her and then Saori turns around and sees Max in his sfaety gear and she said, "Hi, Max."

Max then snapped out of it and said, "Hey, Saori."

Saori was awestruck by his dragon friend and she came close to him and said, "Who's your friend?"

"This is Blaze. You remember him." Max replied.

Saori's trying to think how she met him last time and then like a memory, it flashed into her head and said, "Oh yeah...I remember him! He was the one that took Akashi for a ride in the sky and he threw up the whole way over."

Blaze laughs at this and he said, "Yeah, that was funny."

"It was gross seeing my brother throw up, but at the same time...I couldn't stop myself from laughing so hard. Just seeing Akashi puke while he was flying...that was something I could bring up all day long." Saori said, giggling.

Max chuckled in response to that and said, "I think he was embarrassed after that."

As much as they would love to talk about Akashi puking during a dragon ride, Blaze wanted to take to the skies and he said, "Wanna fly?"

"Yeah, sure. Saori, would you like to join us?" asked Max.

Saori was surprised that she would be included on this dragon ride and she blinked her eyes as she asked, "Is it safe?"

"Of course. Do you trust me?" asked Max, holding out his paw.

Just by looking at his paw, it seems as though Max is more than willing to keep her safe while riding and she's always up for something new and she takes his paw and joins him on the ride as she wraps her arms around him so she won't let go and she said, "Anywhere you go, I'll go with you."

Blaze blinks a few times and spreads his wings as he walks in all fours to find the perfect spot for him to fly these two and the second they left the valley, Blaze quickly runs as fast as possible until they headed to a wooded area not far from the Valley of Peace and Blaze opens up his wings as he's ready for takeoff and exclaimed, "Hold on tight!"

And not long afterwards, Blaze started flying higher to the sky and Saori was bracing herself for the experience as she held onto Max for dear life and as they flew, Max helped Saori to calm her fears down and know that everything's gonna be okay and once they flew up higher above the clouds, Saori's fears simmered down and it was replaced by awe and wonder as she saw the clouds for the first time.

She puts her paw through the clouds and felt a soft touch like she can embrace it and as they kept flying, Saori felt like her lifelong dream to fly is coming into a reality and the fact that Max is beside her makes it all the more better for her and all three of them looked up at the colors of the sky and never knew how amazing it could actually look like and they like the beauty of nature from the air rather than on ground.

"Is it everything you ever dreamed of?" asked Max, smiling.

Saori smiled at that too and she replied, "No...it's much better."

"Only the best for my princess." Max added.

Saori wrapped her arms around him and held him tighter and she said, "I wish this feeling could last forever."

"Trust me, wherever we go...we can only go nowhere but up." Blaze added.

All three of them flew all the way above the air and there's this huge exhuberant feeling sinking in as they kept soaring and all of them can definitely feel the rush of the wind and they didn't have a care in the world, especially Saori. She felt like she could hold on tight and wake up like it's a dream, but she knew that it's not a dream...which is the best part for her because it's like she's living in it.

"Blaze, can you go faster?" asked Saori.

"Wait till you see what I can do." Blaze replied, as he goes faster and faster, much to Saori's delight and she was all for it.

"This is the best day ever!" Saori exclaimed.

"Same here!" Max agreed.

* * *

And a hidden place that Max and Blaze show Saori...


	18. Early Birthday Present

Max gives Saori an amazing place for their future escapes together and she gives him something in return...

* * *

Chapter 18: Early Birthday Present

As Blaze flew Max and Saori to Blaze's secret place and made the landing, Max allowed Saori to go first being the gentleman he is and both of them slid down and got off of Blaze as they reached the ground with Max holding her hand and when they look at their paws holding together, they can feel the connection between the two of them are growing a little stronger. Both of them smiled at each other and blushed a little as Saori giggled a little bit, but Saori looks at the open space and she was blown away by how amazing it looks, in terms of how much it's secluded and private.

"Pretty impressive, huh?" asked Max, taking off his helmet.

"I'll say. I wonder why you didn't bring me here before." Saori said, blown away by all of majestic beauty.

"Well, I didn't want Akashi to find out where I've been with Blaze and spend most of my time flying with him and as an added bonus, if I took you with me, he'd find you quickly and he wouldn't know about Blaze's hideout and that he'll tell everyone else about it have it discovered." Max replied.

Saori could understand Max's concern about having someone find out about this hangout hideout and that would take the interesting secrets out of having a secret place to hide in and she walks around the scope and majestic of it, from the huge river circled around to the cavern mountains and the tiny scope of it all that's all circled around in a tiny region outside of the Valley of Peace.

"It's enough to take your breath away." Saori said, amazed.

Max followed behind her and he could tell that she's completely awestruck with everything right in front of her eyes and he sits down on a rock and said, "I wanted to show it to you eventually."

"Before you leave?" asked Saori.

That took Max by surprise that she knows they're leaving the Valley of Peace after Musaki's 21'st birthday and of course, that would mean that he wouldn't see Saori again and she sat down as well and he said, "That doesn't mean I'll leave you forever. I'll come by and visit and see how things are going."

"I just hope you don't forget about me." Saori added.

Max puts his paw on her shoulder and said, "Why would I ever forget about this beautiful face right in front of me? Oh, sure...there will be other girls trying to get my attention, but none of them would ever hold a candle to you."

Saori smiled in response to that and she said, "You're so cute when you think of me. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you more...unless you and Akashi make a trek to live in Shanghai Secluded Valley." Max added.

"We'll see what happens." Saori said, trying to be coy.

Just then, Saori unzips something from her satchel and she pulls out something that symbolizes their future together soon and out comes a bandana with a white tiger striped all over it and a heart symbol with a yin-yang form in the center and he puts it on Max's head, much to his surprise. Max touched the texture of that bandana and asked, "What's this?"

"Take a look in the water and see for yourself." Saori replied.

Max got up and looks in the river and sees the reflection of himself with that bandana and he totally sees a different person when he wore it and he said, "Wow...this is so cool!"

"I figured you'd love it. I know I probably should've waited until your birthday, but with your birthday coming in less than five days, I figured I would give you a birthday present earlier before the big day." Saori answered.

Max chuckled at this and he turned to Saori and said, "I love it. Thank you so much."

He comes over to her and he sees that she's got the same exact matching bandana headband, but in a more girly version and both tigers looked at each other in the eye and gave out a tender kiss on the lips towards each other and Blaze was just looking as he covered his eyes with his paw and tail, but took another quick glance with a smile and said to himself, "Next thing you know, they'll have baby cubs of their own."

"We heard that." Max responded.

"How? You couldn't even hear me." Blaze stated.

"We have super-sonic hearing." Saori pointed out.

Blaze grunts in exasperation and just chuckled amusedly and said, "Whatever...so, Saori...what do you think of my hangout?"

"It's amazing. I could see all three of us hanging out here soon." Saori said, happily.

Blaze chuckled softly and said, "When you said three of us, it's really you, Max and your tongues."

Max sighed exasperatedly at this and he turned to Saori and asked, "Wanna get him?"

"Let's do it." Saori agreed.

Both tigers looked at Blaze and went after him as Blaze quickly ran out of their range to chase him all around the circle of the river and he leapt up on top of the roof of the cavern mountain and Blaze shook his tail as if to playfully taunt them by not reaching up the air, but Max and Saori defied the odds as they did leap up to the location right behind Blaze. When Blaze turned around and saw them standing there with their arms folded, they smirked and Blaze groans in response and lowered his ears.

"You were saying?" asked Max, raising his eyebrow.

"You're good." Blaze said.

Just then, both tigers leapt up to Blaze and they engaged in a tickle fight as Blaze started laughing hysterically as he gets tickled and Blaze said, "Stop it, that tickles! Seriously, guys!"

Blaze couldn't stop laughing as his entire body gets tickled by the two tigers and both Max and Saori are just having fun tickling Blaze and kept tickling him until they all chillaxed as they sat down together and looked at the clouds together. There's nothing Blaze, Max and Saori love more than to enjoy each other's company as they look at the sky together.

* * *

A very sweet moment to be treasure between two white tiger cubs! Stay tuned for more!


	19. Last Day of 11

This chapter focuses on Max's last day of being 11 years old and this is how he spent it.

* * *

Chapter 19: Last Day of 11

A few days have gone by and it is only one more day until Max hits 12 and what better way to spend his last day of being 11 than hanging out with his family at the house and as he comes downstairs, he sees Samurai, Tsunami, Phoenix, Zoey, Luna, Dakota, Duke, Bakari, Isaiah and Shinoda hanging in the living room and when they saw Max, Samurai said, "Hey, dude! Wanna hang out with us?"

Max blinked his eyes in response and is surprised that his brothers asked him to hang with them and he said, "Sure!"

He joins in with the rest of them and Samurai said, "It's the day before your birthday, dude! Why not just have some fun with all of us?"

And Max could tell that he wanted this for a long time...a chance to hang out with his sibs and they don't really do that much hanging out at all and for him, it was just a good way to bond even more and especially before he turns 12. Max then asked, "So...what do we do first?"

"Actually, what do you want to do?" asked Phoenix.

"Yeah, whatever you like to do, we want to join in." Samurai responded.

And that was quite a surprise for Max and he just thought about the many things he loves to do before celebrating his birthday and he's got quite a long ideas in his head on how he wants to spend it.

Not long afterwards, Max played hide and seek with the younger ones plus the older sibs and Max became the seeker while everyone else hides and it's up to Max to find them all and if there's one thing he learned from Kaizer, it's to be cunning and how to find their hidden prey...but to use it for playful advantages. Not long afterwards, Max found few of his younger siblings and then it was time for the older siblings to be found.

Max snuck around most hiding places, but it wasn't actually hard to find them because being that they're pandas, certain parts of them stick out like their legs, arms, butt, faces or belly would be half exposed and it makes the game so much easier for Max because he can smell their stench from further away. Most of the panda siblings were completely shocked that Max found them quickly and didn't expect him to be found so quickly.

"Man, he's really good." Samurai said.

"It's a tiger's intuition." Phoenix pointed out.

Next up, Max decided to take them all on a dragon ride with Blaze just to get a feeling of what it's like to ride with him and so far, most of them were amazed by how fast Blaze could fly in the air as they got in one-by-one with each sibling coming in for a few flights abvove the air and the rest of them who were watching could either cheer them on or tease them by going faster.

With each turn they had, there were mixed emotions ranging from excited and amazed to scary and wanting to throw up afterwards, but it was all in the fun for spending time with Max.

And Max taught some of his sibs a few things about MMA and there were wrestling involved with a touch of martial arts and kung-fu, but Max knows how to use his version of white tiger style to his advantage and he marries in traditonal kung-fu and wrestling and after his sibs witnessed a few demos, Max brought Samurai in first for demonstration, of which Samurai gets nervous about it and once Max showed him a few things, Samurai thought that it was time to use what he got and in many ways, he would fall down on his gut and butt.

Samurai tried his best to get this and in each occasion, he keeps slipping and falling and he couldn't keep up with Max because he's so fast and Phoenix stepped in and tried to go after Max and believe it or not, Phoenix became pretty good at MMA for some reason and used it to spar Max. That surprised Samurai the most and he doesn't want to be upstaged by both brothers and he tried again and this time, he executed it so correctly with just one swirling roundkick mixed with a thrashing movement towards Phoenix.

"Yeah! I got it in me!" Samurai cheered.

Most of them were cheering for Samurai because he finally got it right and Max gave him a fist-bump for doing so and Samurai actually felt proud of himself for finally getting this down pat.

After the sparring, they looked up at the clouds and tried to guess which cloud looks like what and Max got most of the clouds guessing game right by identifying a panda, heart, horse and a dumpling. Some of the other siblings were just laighing and goofing around each other and they all kept guessing which cloud looks like what until sunset comes in and they knew that after sunset, it'll be Max's final hours before reaching 12 years old.

"This has been such a fun day, you guys." Max said, happily.

"We know, man. The fun's only just beginning though because tomorrow...it's your birthday." Samurai added.

"I can hardly believe it! Just a few years ago, I was a very scared, shy seven year old cub and now I've gotten a lot older." Max replied.

"Yeah, you've come a long way. I never really expected this moment to come...and so fast. Part of me misses you being a little kid because I just feel like I haven't obligated my duties as a big brother the way I should." Arizona added.

Max did not expect Arizona to say that and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well...you look at little siblings and that's the one part that you remember about them the most and that you wish they could stay little, but then when they grow up, you realzie that time is going too fast and that was something that I wasn't sure if I'm ready for yet. But at the same time...I look at what he's gonna be in the future and I know that you will grow up to be an amazing person like you are right now." Arizona added.

Max was touched to hear that come from Arizona and he said, "Thanks. And don't worry...not matter how old I get, you can always think of me as your little tiger brother."

"Thanks, buddy." Arizona said, coming over to give him a hug and a noogie.

Max exclaimed the minute he got noogied by Arizona and he just kept laughing through it all and Samurai exclaimed, "NOOGIE FIGHT!"

Soon enough, everyone piled onto themselves, giving each other some noogies and they were all laughing in the midst of the noogie first and it's like the best family day they could ever have and come tomorrow, all of that will come together on Max's 12 birthday and that was a great way for Max to celebrate the last day of being 11.

* * *

Next chapter...Max turns 12!


	20. New Morning, New Age

Now...we see Max is officially 12 years old!

* * *

Chapter 20: New Morning, New Age

The next day comes up and as the sun rises up, Max groaned in his sleep and as he got out of his covers, he lets out a big yawn and scratched his back a little bit and just took a look in the mirror and as a little sluggish as he was, he could tell that he's getting a little older now and as he took one look at himself, he can tell that he's getting a little older now. He looks at the further side of the mirror and sees a note attached and he slips it out of there and it was a birthday card from the Jade Palace. Up until now, Max had never received a birthday card from the Jade Palace masters before and as he opened it, he sees a note there and it read...

 _Maximus...as you grow into an amazing person, we hope that this special day will be 1,000 times more special for you. We are very happy about the person you're becoming and as you come of age, always stay true to who you are and never let anyone tell you different. Just know that you are loved and all of us at the Jade Palace wish you the best birthday you will have. Happy 12th birthday, Maximus! Signed, the Jade Palace masters_

After reading the card, he definitely felt the love coarsing through every inch of his body and that the Jade Palace masters are thinking of him and sending him love for his birthday and that was the best way to kick off being 12 years old. He took some time to sit down on the ground, cross his legs and meditate for a while and as he's meditating, he begins thinking back to all the good times he's had ever since Musaki and Arizona came into his life and being taken in by the Bushido-Akio family and also meeting the Jade Palace masters along the way.

And it even reflects back on his early years that his birth parents' volatile relationship with him has been broken and although he's been marred by all of what was going on, he knows that none of those things he went through was his fault. And he doesn't want to place any bad blood between the two, despite them being dead and all. That was their burden and not Max's. In a way, he's kinda thankful for those horrible things he went through because it made him a much stronger person because he survived through it all and got a second chance to live a normal childhood with kind and loving adopted parents and an extended family.

If it hadn't have been for those moments, he wouldn't have the life that he has right now and as today marks his 12th birthday, he thinks about how far he's come and that he is deeply grateful for the family he has now.

Max smiled as he meditated because he is now at peace with the world...and by a huge margin, with himself.

'I've come so far...I'm just the luckiest tiger cub ever. I would not trade this in for anything.' Max thought.

* * *

The age is a reflection period for Max where he transitioned from shy, scared little orphan cub to a young tiger and where he came from and how his life became a happy one and he's very fortunate to surround himself with positive people in his life. Stay tuned to see more of Max on his 12th birthday!


	21. Max's Special Morning

Chapter 21: Special Day for Max

After Max was meditating, he walked downstairs and went straight to the kitchen and stopped to see a full smorgasboard of breakfast food right in front of him; including rice with milk, giant stacks of tiger pancakes, fruits and dumplings and Max's eyes were widened up by the epic sight of a birthday breakfast standing right of him and he said, "Amazeballs..." 

"Morning, birthday boy!"

Max turns around to see Samurai and Po coming in the room and he was just happy and awestruck at the same time and never expected both pandas to cook breakfast for him and he said, "Did you guys do all of this?"

"Yeah, we did. I invited Po to come over early to help fix breakfast for your birthday while you were asleep." Samurai answered.

Po nodded in agreement and he said, "And I did not eat every single morsel of it."

Samurai folded his arms and glared at him with disbelief because he knew Po all too well that whenever there is some food laying around, he's the first one to get it before everyone else can and Po saw the look on Samurai's face and he said, "I didn't! This time!"

"Mm-hmm." Samurai said, unconvinced.

Max hugged the both of them in a deep gratitude and said, "I love you guys! Thank you for doing this for me!"

Samurai and Po hugged him back as well and they knew they were doing a good thing for Max on his special day and Po said, "You're welcome."

"Man...I can't believe that you're 12 now. You're growing up, buddy...but you still got a lot of growing to do...height-wise." Samurai said, before letting out a laugh.

Max lets out an amused laugh at that comment and said, "I'll let that slide because it's my birthday."

"Well...what are we waiting for?! Are we gonna look at the food or eat it?!" Po said, just excited for the food.

All three of them sat down to get some breakfast and Samurai looked at Po and said, "This time, don't eat it all at once."

Samurai allowed Max to get some food first and he got a slice of tiger pancakes, some berries, rice with milk and dumplings on his plate while both Samurai and Po had a little bit of everything on their plates and Po was the first one to eat everything on his plate quickly and Max asked, "Is anyone else coming for breakfast?"

"Actually, they had left a little early to visit the Jade Palace. But Akashi said that you can hang out with Saori today." Samurai replied.

Just hearing that Saori wants to hang with him today makes Max's heart fluttered more and he said, "Wow...on my birthday? This is gonna be the best day ever."

"Wait until you see what we got planned for you today." Po said, with his mouth full.

Samurai quickly stuffed Po's mouth with tiger pancakes as a reaction to prevent him spilling the beans of Max's surprises for his birthday and Max looked at Po in an unexpected fashion and asked, "Like what?"

"Nothing! Po said nothing! He just said how awesome these tiger pancakes are!" Samurai said, smiling.

Max nods his head at this and he kept eating his breakfast and enjoyed every single morsel of it and after he was finished, he hugged Samurai's side and said, "Thanks, big bro."

"Anytime, little buddy. Saori told me to tell you to meet her at Mr. Ping's Noodle Shop in an hour, so go get ready, okay?" asked Samurai.

"No problem!" Max said, as he quickly went up the stairs.

After that, Samurai glared at Po and whispered, "You almost blew the surprise!"

"Sorry! I blab when I eat." Po responded.

Samurai sighed heavily and then tried to dial down the pressure factor and he said, "Let's just focus on getting everything set up today. When Max leaves, this whole house will turn to a party."

"Gotcha." Po replied, still eating his tiger pancake.


	22. Spending Time with Saori

And how do you celebrate your birthday? Spend half of it with your crush!

* * *

Chapter 22: Spending Time with Saori

Samurai took Max over to the Noodle Shop and as they were walking, Max felt excited and anxious at the same time knowing that he's gonna spend time with Saori on his birthday and he couldn't help but wnder what they'll do together and when they finally got to the Noodle Shop, he saw Saori sitting there with her best outfit that only Max could stare at with his dreamy eyes. Samurai smiled at this and he could see that Max has a crush overload on her and he chuckled softly as he said, "Quite the charmer."

Max walked towards Saori's table and as Saori looked up at him, she felt joyful to see him walk in and she said, "Hello, my handsome birthday tiger."

Max blushed after hearing that and he said, "Hello there, Saori. You look pretty as usual."

Saori giggled in response to that and she said, "Thank you. So...how shall we spend your special day?"

"Would would you like to do?" asked Max, sitting on the table.

"Max...it's your birthday. Whatever you want to do, I would love to do it with you." Saori said, smiling at him.

Max knew that look that Saori's making and he cannot resist her charms and sweet-looking face of hers and that was the one thing that drew in to her was her beauty and wonderful strength and because she's much easier to talk to and he began thinking of how he'll spend half of his birthday with her while Samurai slipped away to return to the house to go through with the plans for Max's birthday dinner.

After a few seconds, Max looked to Saori and said, "I think I got something..."

"I'm listening." Saori replied.

As the morning progresses, both Max and Saori went with Blaze to do some things that Max normally loves to do, but with her by his side and the first thing they did was play hide and seek in the forest where Max was the hider and Saori is the seeker to find him. Saori quickly runs across the forest to find him, but he proved to be evasive if he hears her footsteps coming for him as he kept hiding from place to place where he can't be seen.

Saori keeps scouring around the forest to find him and as she goes from tree to tree, she keeps missing him in every step and knows that he's bound to be somewhere. Max's tail stuck out from behind and it taps her on the back until it hides away again, but Saori knows that Max is around somewhere. She just needs to find where he could be and the his tail stuck out again, Saori quickly tugged it and it caught Max's attention very quickly as he looked down and saw her waving at her.

"You're good!" Max exclaimed.

"Always!" Saori replied.

Both tigers slid down the mountains using some old battle shields and they were having the time of their lives as they went up, down and around and Saori showed off her martial arts skills while on the shield and Max smiled in amusement as they landed on the ground, but both of them got off the shields and pummeled towards each other where Saori ended up holding Max and Max held her in a gentle, playful pouncing position.

They looked at each other and realized that they're holding each other's shoulders, giggling nervously as they got up and dusted themselves off and Saori said, "That was fun."

"Yeah, this is my big fix." Max replied.

"So...what next?" asked Saori.

Not long afterwards, they headed towards a quiet place towards the hills looking over the valley of Peace and when Saori saw the sight of it, she was blown away by the view and could see herself with Max in the future sitting in this place. She was breathless and said, "Oh...Max, this is amazing."

Much to the duo's surprise, they see a picnic basket with food stacked in and Saori said, "Who sent those?"

"I don't know." Max replied.

But they did see a note attached to the picnic basket and it read, 'Enjoy the picnic, you too! And be good! Akashi' and Saori knew that this was Akashi's note from that writing of his and she said, "My brother...I gotta thank him later."

They opened up the picnic basket and there's loads of food; noodles, dumplings, rice, sesame chicken and other things there and Max said, "Wow...Akashi must've packed up this food for us."

"Looks like it. This is gonna be the best picnic date...with you on your birthday." Saori said, sitting down.

Max sat down with her as he pulled out the blanket and puts out some food as the two began to eat and for Max...the best part about his birthday is spending half of it with Saori and it was one moment that they would treasure forever. Saori puts her arms around him as she laid her head against his shoulder and Max laid his head above hers and enjoyed the day.

"This is the best birthday of my life." Max said, happily.

* * *

Well...this is just the beginning!


	23. Down to the Wire

Prepping for Max's 12th birthday is underway...

* * *

Chapter 23: Down to the Wire

As Max enjoys his picnic with Saori, back at the Bushido-Akio house, everyone is prepping for Max's birthday dinner while the others set the ambience to make it look amazing, but keeping it simple. Some of the Jade Palace masters and students were assisting with the decorations and just knowing that they're here to celebrate Max's special day with him makes it all the more special for them because it's their final hoorah before the entire family leaves after Musaki's 21'st birthday and they're gonna celebrate it the best way possible.

"You know, I can't believe little Max is growing up. He's really coming into his own." Faith added, putting up the streamers.

"Seems like only yesterday that I played hide and seek with the little guy. Now he's not so little anymore." Kiba said, grabbing a few boxes.

Samurai is busy in the kitchen, but overheard the conversation throughout and said, "He's still little...just not by age. We all joke around every day about Max growing up to be a big tiger. Now...it seems as though it's coming true. You don't really think about it, but we all know one day that he'll be growing up."

"Part of me misses the little guy being so little. Especially when he kicked Ryo in the groin several times in the defense stance." Faith said, giggling.

Skyler was laughing as well thinking about that moment and said, "I almost forgot about that! That was so funny!"

Ryo didn't find it funny because those memories literally made him embarrassed, almost as if his pride was being kicked hard and he scoffs at that and said, "It's not really that funny. He's got a strong foot, but he shouldn't use it on me."

"I would pay Max 12,000 yuan to kick you in the groin for an entire day." Kiba said, laughing.

"How about 20,000?" asked Skyler, smirking.

Ryo growls in response to that and said to both, "I'd pay both of you 1 yuan to shut up."

Just then, Miyo and Akashi showed up to the Bushido-Akio place with the cake coming in alongside three other bakers to lift this up and once everyone looked at the cake, they were awestruck by how it all turned out and Samurai's jaw dropped to the ground as the cake was far more amazing than ever and Kiba asked, "That's Max's?"

"It couldn't be. It looks like the Dragon Warrior would eat it whole." Samurai answered.

The bakers set it down towards the table as Miyo looks at her crazy awesome work and said, "It's pretty cool, right? It took me those seven weeks to develop an idea for Max's cake, but thanks to Max's drawing of the cake, it never looked amazing than ever."

"Wow...you literally outdone yourself." Zoey said, amazed.

They all looked at the cake and it was in two square layers and one of those layers have a picture of the Jade Palace in the center of it with Max standing on the steps among the masters and Akashi said, "I can tell that Max will be blown away."

"Looks so good...I could eat it." Ryo said, mouth drooling over the glance.

Miyo yanked Ryo's tail to stop him from proceeding to do so and said, "Let's wait until the birthday tiger comes over."

"Awwwww!" Ryo whined.

"How many hours we got left?" asked Tsunami.

"We have about 6 more hours left to get this all straightened out. I bet you Max is having a lot of fun with Saori." Mako stated.

"Not too much fun, I hope." Akashi added.

* * *

And where's Max in all of this? Find out next...


	24. Beautiful Moment

A sweet moment between Max and Saori!

* * *

Chapter 24: Beautiful Moment

After a picnic lunch, Saori lays on Max's side just enjoying the peace and quiet of this view on the mountains and both tiogers feel like they're on top of the world with each other as Max gently touched Saori's head and he never really thought those feelings would develop at 12 years old, but his crush with Saori just keeps showing genuine love and affection for her as he spends every waking moment of his birthday with her.

"This has become one of the best birthdays of my life so far...just spending it with you has made it more special for me." Max said, looking at Saori.

Saori looks at Max in the eye and said, "I'm glad I could get a chance to spend it with you. How does it feel being 12 now?"

"I'm not sure. Just the same I felt when I was 11. But to me, I'm still the same person I've always been, so there's no changes in me except that I'm getting a little taller and my voice is changing a bit." Max replied.

Saori giggled in response to that and told him, "Your voice sounds great. It doesn't matter what you look like to me."

Both tiger cubs are at the same age rate, despite the fact Saori's a little older than Max. But both of them are pretty much on cloud nine when it comes to being together at all and there's no other moment other than now to spend time with each other. Max puts on his bandana that Saori gave him for his early birthday present and once Saori saw him wear it, her heart felt like fluttering in the air and she said, "You still have it?"

"Hey, it's the thought that counts, right?" asked Max.

Saori giggled in response to that and Max noticed that both paws have touched each other and they did not expect that to happen, but both of them looked at each other in the eye and they got closer and kissed each other in the lips for a few minutes and it was a sweet, tender kiss towards each other and their eyes have closed as they kissed.

After the kiss, Max and Saori looked at each other as they realized what just happened and they both giggled nervously towards each other and blushed at the same time and just then, they noticed the sky is getting a little bright orange-y, confirming that it's a little late. Max was shocked to know that time is coming faster and said, "Birthday dinner! I'm supposed to be there before sunset!"

"Don't worry, we'll get there!" Saori exclaimed.

Just then, Blaze flew out of nowhere very quickly and flapped his wings, waiting for Max and Saori to get onboard and both of them leapt up towards Blaze's tail and Blaze shouted, "Hold on! We'll get the the valley of Peace before you can say PARTYTIME!"

"You're pretty wild, aren't ya?" asked Max.

"Trust me, buddy...you don't know the meaning of the word." Blaze said, chuckling.

Blaze then flew out of the hill and made their way back to the Valley of Peace and as soon as they flew out and saw the Jade Palace from further away, they knew that the've made it...and just that quick too.

"I hope we're not too late." Max said, very hopeful.

* * *

Next chapter...PARTYTIME!


	25. Arrival of the Birthday Tiger

And Max shows up to his 12th birthday and gets the surprise of a lifetime!

* * *

Chapter 25: Arrival of the Birthday Tiger

Back at the Bushido-Akio house, Max's closest friends have arrived to the party including his MMA trainer, Jason and as they piled in the house, most of them were excited to see Max and surprise him on his birthday while some of them kept watch in case he comes by outside. The family plus the Jade Palace masters and students are putting the finishing touches on the ambience for Max's birthday dinner by setting the plates and food all over and once it's all in those little perfect frames, it looks like it's all set up.

Mako smiles at everything that has been done in just one day and all it needs is the birthday cub and they are all set to go as some of the siblings look at all the stuff that has been accomplished and they know they are doing this for their tiger brother. Samurai smiled at this and he said, "This is gonna be an awesome birthday."

"Max is gonna be so surprised!" Tsunami exclaimed.

"I don't know about you guys, but I am ready for the food!" Po said, looking at all the food laid out.

Ryo felt the same way as the overwhelming amount of food all over made his appetite go crazy, but he knows that it's all for Max and everyone else there. The temptation of eating most of the food is starting to kick in, but Skyler wanted to kick that temptation by kicking Ryo in the butt hard to snap out of it. Once Ryo felt the sharp force of Skyler's foot on his butt, that woke him up, but still got a little antsy about it.

"Really, Sky? Of all the places you would kick me, you chose my butt?" asked Ryo, rubbing his butt.

"I've known you for a long time and with your appetite. Yours is way more bigger than Po...and that's saying a lot." Skyler said, with a smirk.

Ryo chuckled sarcastically at this and muttered, "My girlfriend's a comedian."

Meanwhile, most of the kids were keeping a watch on Max to see if he's coming and they're just talking about how surprised he'll be when they see him and not long afterwards, they hear a distant dragon roar from the sky and as they looked up, one of them recognized Blaze and exclaimed, "Max is coming!"

They could tell from Max's white stripes from a distance and once they saw it was Max, they immediately dispersed over to the house and exclaimed, "Max is coming!"

That gave them the alert that they're gonna surprise them and everyone has to find a hiding spot around the house and the entire Bushido-Akio clan, Jade Palace masters and students as well as Max's friends hid in different places until it was time for Max to come in. Less than a few minutes go by, they're all silent and everything was dark as soon as the door opens.

Max, Saori and Blaze entered the house and Max became a little curious as to why everything's so dark and Saori said, "Is anyone here?"

"I'm sure they're around here somewhere. You know, I can see anything in the dark, so it may not be that hard." Max replied.

"You're nocturnal, aren't ya?" asked Blaze.

"I guess you could say that. Wonder where everyone is." Max said, walking by.

Little did Max know...

The lights came on all of a sudden and everyone popped out of nowhere and shouted, "SURPRISE!"

* * *

Stay tuned for the party!


	26. Surprised by Friends

And the surprise continues...

* * *

Chapter 26: Surprised by Friends

As soon as the entire family surprised Max on his birthday, Max became shocked to see not only his family there, but also his best friends from the MMA class come in for the party and that was just something he would never expect to happen and everyone shouted, "Happy birthday, Max!"

Max chuckled at this and he was just stunned to speak, but the look on his happy face spoke for itself as he found himself surrounded by friends and family and he said, "You guys are the best! I can't believe you're here on my birthday!"

"Believe it, dude! You'd think we would forget about your birthday?" asked best friend #1, fist-bumping him.

"Yeah, we can tell you're very surprised." Best friend #2 added, smiling.

"Were you surprised?" asked Samurai, smiling.

Max chuckled and he just nodded his head indicating that he's completely surprised and said, "I felt like my heart was gonna pop out of my chest."

"That would've been the icing on the cake." Tsunami said, snickering.

Soon enough, Akashi came by and puts on a birthday hat on his head and puts one on Max's head and he said, "How awesome is it being 12?"

"Now it feels great because I have the best friends and family there to celebrate it with me. That in itself is an awesome thing to have happen." Max added, smiling.

Most of Max's best friends knew that this would be the last birthday party they have with him because he's gonna leave the Valley of Peace soon, so they are determined to make the most of it as they will celebrate it like never before. All of them came over to give Max a group hug and as a special treat for him, they gathered around alongside Jason as they did some Chinese interpretive celebratory dance with a kick of martial arts as a token of appreciation for the lives Max has changed since he came to the MMA class as a student. A combination of tai chi, kung-fu and MMA was brought in and Max was being drawn into the whole celebratory farewell routine they worked on and that made Max feel so humbled to have such amazing friends like this.

They ended the routine with a wai pose and a bow for gratitude for Max and everyone applauded and cheered for that routine and Jason came to Max and said, "You truly are a remarkable student. And you inspired all these students to stay true to who they are. With a short time you have left here with us, we hope this special performance let you know how we feel about you."

"Thanks, Jason. All of you...for everything." Max said, happily.

"Now let's go dive in for some food!" Reiko shouted.

Everyone cheered as they made their way to the table as Max and Saori came in there holding hands and from what Akashi sees, he knew that they're meant to be together, but has to keep Max on his toes when it comes to his relationship with Saori in the future. But for now, he'll let that slide because it is Max's birthday and joins in with them.

* * *

More party coming soon!


	27. Simple Birthday Feast

A little birthday feast for a 12 year old...what could be awesomer?

* * *

Chapter 27: Simple Birthday Feast

As everyone sat around the table, they got every kind of food possible and ate some of Max's favorite foods and as Max sat next towards Saori, they were all googly-eyed as they were eating and the rest of the table were just eating and talking with each other, as well as interacting with the masters, the MMA students and the family and they just enjoyed each other's company. Most of the kids were commending Samurai's cooking and the Jade Palace masters agreed with that, which both surprised and frightened Samurai because he knows that one of them may critique his cooking, except for Po.

"Awesome food, Sammy. As always." Po said, with much enthusiasm.

"Yes, you have always come through with the grandest ease." Shifu agreed, eating his dumplings.

Samurai smiled at this and is deeply humbled by the compliments about his cooking and he said, "Thanks, guys."

"We're all gonna miss your cooking, Sam. I know that there will be a potential girl one day that would love to eat your cooking." Monkey said, smiling.

That was an immediate strike that Samurai was not expecting to hear from Monkey and somewhere along the line, the kids responded with a resounding, 'Oooooohhhh' almost as if they heard it and Samurai blushed in response and muttered to Monkey, "Not in front of the cubs."

"Too late, Sam." Max said, chuckling.

"How's the food, everyone?" asked Samurai, trying to change the subject.

Everyone gave him a huge thumbs up for the cooking and many of them and Mako looked at Max and asked, "Be honest, son...were you surprised?"

"Very surprised. I was expecting half of my friends to come over, maybe like 10 or 12." Max answered.

"There's more than 12 here. The entire class couldn't miss this for anything." one of the MMA student teachers stated.

"Yeah, you've really come matured into an amazing person and I know that this sounds so cliche, but you really are one of those one of a kind students that any teacher would love to have." another MMA student teacher agreed.

Max is so humbled to have really good friends around him on his special day plus Saori adds more to it and he smiled and said, "Thank you, guys. You know, if someone would've told me 7 years ago that I would have an adopted family, have an awesome crush and live a happy life, I wouldn't believe them even though would want that to happen. To know that I have that stable life, it just makes me look forward to the future more. I'm just really happy to live in the moment and share it with the people I care about. I wouldn't ask for anything more."

"We're all happy for you, Max." Reiko said, smiling.

"So am I." Saori said, smiling at Max.

"Who's ready for cake?" asked Miyo, bringing in this big cake.

Everyone looked at this butterscotch cake that Miyo and Akashi are bringing in and the look on Max's eyes the minute he saw it was one of tremendous shock and amazement that this cake defied all of Max's expectations as it hits the table and Max's jaw dropped at the sight of it and everyone's talking about the cake like it's the biggest deal ever. Miyo comes to Max and asked, "What do you think?"

"Miyo...this is the biggest cake I've ever seen! I love this cake!" Max exclaimed, in delight.

Akashi gives Max a knife to cut the cake and he takes the first slice and puts it on a plate and he said, "Cake for everyone!"

Max shares his cake with the guests as he places each slice in every plate and passes it over to everyone and that's the one thing Max always does; puts others first before himself, even though it is his birthday and everyone ate some cake and when Max took a taste of it, he was overpowered by the butterscotch frosting and everything butterscotch in the cake.

"How do you think Miyo did?" asked Saori, eating the cake.

Max was busy eating another slice that he just couldn't speak at the moment and he gave Saori her answer; two thumbs up and that alone sealed the deal. After Max swallowed the cake, Max looks at Miyo and he instantly said, "I would love to have my birthday cakes made by you every year."

Miyo was glad to hear it coming from Max because it made her feel like she had accomplished that job of hers and she said, "Thank you, Max!"

"No...thank you." Max said, with a smile.

* * *

2 more chapters left! Stay tuned for more! BTW, would you have Max's birthday cake?


	28. Party at the Palace

the 12th birthday party ain't over yet! As it moves from the Bushido-Akio house to the Jade Palace!

* * *

Chapter 28: Party at the Palace

After the birthday dinner, the gang invited Max and several of his best friends on the way to the Jade Palace because the Jade Palace masters and students have something planned for Max's birthday and with Saori in tow, nobody knew what to expect from this party and Max felt like he's got enough surprises already that what could be more surprising than seeing his friends attend the party and that big butterscotch birthday cake for him and asked, "What other surprises are you trying to give me?"

"Aw, quit asking. Just follow us, birthday cub." Monkey responded, walking to the steps of the palace.

The rest of the crew were really curious as well as they walked over towards the Jade Palace front steps and from the minute, they opened the doors, everyone...including Max was stunned by the decorations and the arrangement that has been set up by some of the masters with everything white striped and celebrating Max's 12th birthday, Jade Palace style.

"What?" asked Max.

"How did they even...?" asked Saori, a little surprised too.

All of Max's friends were just awestruck by everyhing that has occured about the atmosphere there where everyone is celebrating Max's 12th birthday and all of the Elemental Hazards put together this amazing party that Max can party with his friends with and as they came out, streams of confetti pop out of the air and everyone shouted 'Happy birthday' to him and Max tried to comprehend what's going on, but he's just too surprised that he couldn't even grasp it yet.

"How surprised were you?" asked Kiba.

"Like...super surprised! I'm so speechless right now!" Max exclaimed.

Ryo chuckled at this and he said, "Well...we knew that you wanted a simple birthday, but we all thought it just needed a little more than that. So all of us worked the whole seven weeks to put it all together."

Before long, in comes Kovu, Kalia and Borko coming out with a dragon white-striped tiger hybrid thing to do some celebration as music starts playing. Everyone is just getting into it and all of Max's friends were really amazed and awestruck by what they just saw and witnessed and before long, Kiba did some dancing alongside Tamaki and Chronos to a traditional japanese celebration dance to celebrate someone's birthday.

Max bobbed his head to the beat of the drums and just couldn't help but get into it and Saori could tell that Max was feeling it and she got up and danced with him as he playfully twirled around her and just did some good dancing together with a mixture of martial arts and kung fu that blew everyone away and after that dance, most of the kung-fu masters were looking at the two of them dancing together and everyone's cheering for all of them.

Kiba was deeply surprised by Max's fancy footwork and he said, "He's got great moves for dancing too!"

"He dances a lot better than you do, Kiba." Chronos said, smirking.

"All right, guys! Who's up for some fireworks?!" asked Po.

Everyone is cheering for fireworks as they went out of the Hall of Heroes and into the grand stadium at the back of the palace as Takami makes the fireworks come alive as he lits up several fuses and every color of fireworks surround the night sky around the Jade Palace and all of the kids were just amazed by this amazing sight to see.

For Max, he never expected his 12th birthday to be every bit as awesome as it could be and having Saori by his side made it all the more meaning to him as he held her hand and watched the fireworks together and both tigers were looking at each other and just soaked every single moment together in as they kept watching the fireworks.

* * *

Final chapter coming in!


	29. Watching Fireworks from Afar

Beautiful moment between Max and Saori...best way to wrap up Max's 12th birthday!

* * *

Chapter 29: Watching the Fireworks from Afar

While the fireworks kept going on, Max and Saori snuck away from the crowd and headed to the steps of the Sacred Peach Tree to watch them from a distance and as they sat down, both of them were watching the night sky being surrounded by fireworks and Max pulls out his bandana and wraps it around his head and looks at Saori with a smile and the white tigress looked at him with the bandana on and she just giggles a little bit and she said, "You look handsome with it."

"Thanks." Max said, happily.

Saori looks up at Max and she said, "How did you like your 12th birthday?"

"I loved every single minute of it! It's everything that I thought it would be, but I love it when everything's so unexpected. At first, I never wanted everyone to make a big fuss about it because I never wanted anyone to go above and beyond to make it extravagant. Just to keep it simple. But I got the best of both parties. Simple and just amazingly awesome. It's really cool to have everything I need and share it with the people in my life." Max said, very humbly.

Saori was happy to see Max so happy and both tigers are way happier around each other and she said, "Well...I'm glad to hear that. I just hope that whatever time we have left, we can spend it with each other before you leave for the Valley of Peace."

Then, Max sees that Saori's a little sad about Max leaving one day, but he knows that his heart will never leave her at all and he knelt on her side and said, "I'll come by and visit you a lot. You will never feel like you're alone."

"I know. It's just that it won't be the same." Saori replied.

"Saori...you're the only girl for me and I would never trade you nor leave you for anything. Whatever time we have, it will always be treasured. Maybe when you and Akashi visit Shanghai Secluded Valley, you'll find me there. But just know that there is one part of me that will always stay with you...my heart will stay with you as yours will stay in mine." Max said, looking at her in the eyes.

Both tigers looked at each other in the eye and all of Max's comforting words started sinking in and it made Saori feel at ease and both of them kissed each other on the lips so tenderly and it was like neither of them wanted to let go of each other, especially on a special day like this. After they kissed, Saori looked at Max and she said, "I love you."

"I love you too." Max whispered.

"Awwww!" everyone exclaimed.

Both tigers looked up and noted that all of Max's friends, family and the Jade Palace masters and students caught them kissing under the Peach Tree and both of them were completely embarrassed that they got caught and Max said, "I knew they would come in!"

"You two just can't keep away from each other, don't you?" asked Akashi, folding his arms.

Saori scoffs at her brother and she said, "My heart beats for Max."

"Well...on that note, Max...how did you enjoy your birthday?" asked Shifu.

"It was awesome. Thank you, everyone! This birthday has been one of the most meaningful than I've ever had and I deeply express my gratitude for everyone who's made it special." Max said, smiling.

"Here's to making this moment last forever because you're awesome!" Po exclaimed.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAXIMUS!" everyone cheered.

* * *

Stay tuned for the alternate ending!


	30. Alternate Ending

A huge bonus ending to wrap up this story!

* * *

Alternate Ending

The next morning, Max woke up after a huge 12th birthday party yesterday and as he woke up, he stretched himself up and yawned a little bit and jumped out of his bed with only his sweatpants and before he even took one foot to the door, he noticed something shiny glowing through the window and as he turned around, he saw a pair of silver white-striped tiger wristbands that fits Max's size that was left for him. He was astonished by this gift...not just on how awesome it looks, but hhow did it get there in the first place. With those wristbands, he sees a note underneath it and he plucks the note off and read what it says.

 _A little birthday present we all thought you would love! I figured you would want a pair of wristbands with a white-striped silver look because you've been wanting those for 4 years. Trust me, I read your aura during that time and why I waited for 4 years, I don't know. But I know that you will enjoy it a lot. This is a gift from me, the Jade Palace masters and the Elemental Hazards...something that you'll remember us by. Happy 12th birthday...day after, Maximus_

 _-Akashi Okami_

 _P.S.: Don't lose them! If you do, I will know about it soon._

Max chuckled at this and knew that this was classic Akashi at his most moments when he knows something that he will come at him really quick and he picks up one of the wristbands and placed it on his left wrist and it fits perfectly well and he puts on the other on his right wrist and as he puts them on, he knew for a fact that he feels invincible in them, but still remains his humble self.

He takes one look at the mirror with those wristbands and he smiles a little and said to himself, "Maximus...welcome to the start of your life."

He does a little warrior kung-fu pose stance to show off his cool yet very determined demeanor to showcase the inner purpose of himself and he knows that there will be twists and turns during that age, but he's more determined to remain true to himself no matter what life throws at him like a true warrior on the inside.

He puts on his bandana on his head and as he wraps it around his forehead, it shows that he is definitely coming into his own as a young man and will grow and mature to be the best young man he can be, but still keeping himself in a good place.

"Hey, belated birthday cub! Breakfast time!" Samurai shouted.

"Come and get it before Samurai eats it all in one sitting!" Tsunami added.

"That is not true!" Samurai exclaimed.

Max chuckled softly as he left the room and headed downstairs to join the family for breakfast and as he sat down, the entire family was just completely living life as normal as they ate and Zoey asked, "Slept shirtless again?"

"Yeah, Samurai said it helps in case I burn up under my covers." Max replied.

"Hey, I don't always sleep with my shirt on, you know." Samurai pointed out.

Mako clears his throat to cut the conversation short to prevent anyone from losing their appetites and he turned to Max and said, "How did you enjoy your birthday yesterday?"

"Enjoyed it in the best way possible." Max replied.

Phoenix noticed those silver wristbands on his wrists and asked, "Cool wristbands, dude! Where'd you get them?"

"They were there when I woke up and Akashi left me a note saying that this was my birthday gift after 4 years of hoping to have these one day and it looks like he knows me so well." Max answered.

"Are you gonna thank him?" asked Luna.

"Of course I will." Max said, happily.

"You're welcome, little guy!" Akashi said, coming in all of a sudden.

Everyone greeted Akashi in and he sat down in between Max and Phoenix and Akashi said, "So...little Maxie's all grown up, huh?"

"Almost grown up. I mean, 12 is like the jumpstart of my life." Max answered.

"Well...I just hope you enjoy being that age because it goes by so fast." Akashi added.

Max nodded in agreement with a very enlightening smile and said, "Trust me, I will enjoy every last moment of it."

* * *

And that's it! Thanks to everyone who read and subscribed! Huge thanks to Master of Stories and SpiritualLoneWolfXIII for lending me their characters on this story! AniUnvierse is out!


End file.
